Speak
by xxCarrie-Annxx
Summary: AU. After the death of her parents,Gabriella has to live with her god parents, who she hadn’t seen since she was two,the Boltons.Their son, Troy isn’t too thrilled about the idea.And,since the fire,Gabriella has been unable to speak.Longer summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Full Summary: AU. After the death of her parents, Gabriella has to live with her god parents, who she hadn't seen since she was two, the Boltons. Their son, Troy isn't too thrilled about the idea, especially when, ever since the accident, she doesn't speak very much. Will he warm up to her, and maybe even get her to speak? Troyella with very minor Tropay in the beginning.

Disclaimer: High School Musical is not mine.

* * *

Gabriella Montez glanced out the window of the plane miserably, silently wishing she were anywhere but there. A young blonde flight attendant walked by and offered her something to eat or drink, but she shook her head without looking at her, ashamed to show her face to too many people, knowing that they would all think she was some sort of freak. Everyone who looked at her thought that ever since the fire, only some didn't have the guts to say it to her face, but deep down, Gabriella knew the truth. 

The fire, Gabriella remembered, the day her entire life changed for the worst. It was the fire that not only claimed both of her parents' lives, but also had left her scared on the part of the right side of her face, part of her right arm and most her right leg down to her ankle. Her father had tried to get her out, but after he helped her escape the flames, part of ceiling caved in on him and her mother, thus killing them both right before her eyes.

Not only that, but the fire had also taken away her voice. She didn't understand how or why it happened, but she found it impossible to speak ever since. It was like the fire had burned her voice box, because she couldn't even explain to the police or firefighters what had happened, and being that she was right-handed, she couldn't even write it down from being in so much pain at the time. The doctors examined her and said that her voice box was just fine and that she should've been able to speak, but when she tried, no sound would come out.

It had now been nearly two weeks since the fire. Gabriella had been staying at her friend Julia's home until arrangements had been made for her to live with her godparents in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She only knew a few things about her godparents, Jack and Mary Bolton. Mary was her mother's best friend at the time of her birth, but two years later, they had moved away, and that was the last time she had seen them. She also knew that they had a son named Troy who was only a few months older than her and was her best friend when they were little. She didn't remember him though, only from what she had seen in baby pictures her mother had taken of the two together, but they burned up in the fire along with everything else.

The sun's warm rays coming through the window started to make Gabriella drowsy. Closing her eyes and relaxing, Gabriella eventually drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Troy, we're going to go pick Gabriella up at the airport. We'll be back shortly," Jack Bolton told his son as he and his wife started to leave the house. 

"And make sure you stay here. We're going to need your help getting her settled in," Mary added.

Troy nodded, but once they were gone, he laid back on the couch and groaned. He hated this. He hated the fact that some girl was moving into his home. Troy barely even knew her. All he knew was what little bit his parents had told him about her, and all they really said was that she was a straight-A student, her house burned in a fire that killed her parents, and now, she couldn't speak. His parents told him that now he was responsible for keeping an eye on her while they were at school since she was in the same grade, but he knew that hanging out with her would ruin his reputation. Troy was a jock, the captain of the basketball team; girls wanted to be with him and guys wanted to _be_ him. If they saw him hanging out with the geeky new girl, his popularity would decrease immensely.

Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Troy wondered how he was going to keep the secret from the school for long. He didn't even tell his friends, knowing that none of them would be able to keep a secret. His girlfriend, Sharpay Evans, didn't even know about it. He didn't tell her because he knew she wouldn't be much, if any, help.

The one good thing Troy found in any of this was that Gabriella couldn't speak, meaning that he could just avoid her and wouldn't have some mouthy girl to deal with at home; he had enough of them at school.

Troy grabbed the remote on the side table and turned on the television, hoping to get his mind off of his current situation. He flipped through the channels until he found a basketball game on to help pass the time.

* * *

Gabriella stepped out of the plane a few minutes after it had landed. She quickly walked over to the large pile of luggage and after she had found her small backpack, she was approached by a couple who looked to be in their early forties that looked vaguely familiar. 

"Are you Gabriella Montez?" the woman asked and Gabriella nodded.

The woman smiled warmly. "Hi, Gabriella, I'm Mary Bolton and this is my husband, Jack."

Gabriella wanted to say hello, but when she opened her mouth, as always, nothing came out.

"Um, here, I'll take you're bag," Jack offered and she handed it to him, silently thanking him.

* * *

"Well, Gabriella, here we are," Jack told her once they had arrived at the Boltons. "This is our home. We'll have our son Troy show you around." 

Gabriella nodded and stepped out of the car. She followed them inside their house and her eyes immediately landed on the television which was turned on to a basketball game. She also saw a boy who looked to be her age who she assumed was Troy stand up and walk towards Jack and Mary.

"Troy, this is Gabriella Montez. Gabriella, this is our son, Troy," Mary introduced them.

"Uh, hey," Troy greeted, unenthusiastically. He saw the burn marks on the side of her face and noticed her shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

Gabriella stared down at the floor nervously, silently wishing that he would stop staring at her.

"Troy, can you show Gabriella to her room?" Mary asked him quickly, noticing the awkwardness between the two.

"Whatever," Troy answered, quickly looking away. He started walking away, Gabriella following slowly behind him.

"This is the guest room, where you'll be staying," Troy told her once they had gone upstairs. "Next to it is the spare bathroom, then my parents' room is on the end, then my room is between the two, but never go in my room without my permission."

Gabriella nodded and walked inside the guest bedroom. The room was fairly large there was one, full-sized, neatly made bed, a closet in the corner, a nightstand with a small lamp on it along with an alarm clock, but other than that, it was empty. It was nothing fancy, but that's the way Gabriella liked it, plain and simple.

"So, is it true?" he asked her suddenly. She looked at him, confused as to what he meant. He noticed her confusion and rolled his eyes. "So you really can't speak."

Gabriella shook her head, biting her bottom lip nervously. She didn't know why, but she was a bit scared of Troy. He didn't appear to be the friendliest of people, and the aggravated look in his eyes told her he wasn't too fond of her being there.

"Good then, this'll work out better then," Troy said, a bit relived. "Here's the rules. In school, never approach me, my friends, or my girlfriend. No one knows you're staying here except the teachers thanks to my dad, but no one else will find out, got it?" Gabriella nodded and he continued. "Also, when any of my friends are over, you stay out of sight. Like I said, no one else is going to know you live here."

Gabriella nodded, knowing there was nothing else she could do. It was times like these she wished she could talk just so she could say 'no', but until that time, all she could do was agree to his terms.

After Troy had left, Gabriella pulled out a small diary that her friend had got for her to vent out her feelings since she couldn't speak. She turned to the next blank page and began writing:

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I arrived at the Bolton's. The house is pretty much the same size as my old home. Jack and Mary seem pretty nice, but their son, Troy, doesn't seem too happy. Then again, if someone I didn't know suddenly moved into my house and my life, I'd probably be a bit resentful, too. However, I definitely wouldn't tell the person to pretty much stay away from me, especially not if they came from a situation like the one I just came from. Hopefully I can just avoid him for the most part because he doesn't seem like the nicest person to be around. Well, anyway, I start school tomorrow. I hope no one tries to talk to me, so they don't think I'm stuck up or something. Hopefully I won't be known as the school's 'Freaky Math Girl' again. If anything, I'll probably be known as just a freak when people see my face, let alone the rest of my body._

_Well, that's pretty much all for now. I'm going to go check out the rest of the house, but I'm sure I'll write some more later._

_Gabriella_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I didn't intend for it to take this long and I'm hoping it won't happen again, but if it does, just bare with me please. Anyway, I really didn't like this chapter a whole lot, but it's hopefully better than nothing. Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter and this one too.

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

* * *

At 6:00 AM, Troy's alarm clock startled him out of his sleep. Groaning, he rolled over and turned it off, ready for another boring day at East High. After getting dressed and ready for school, he headed downstairs to eat breakfast like he did every other morning, only to find his mother and Gabriella already downstairs. 

"Good morning, Troy," Mary said cheerily. "Gabriella woke up an hour early and already ate, so once you're done, you guys can go so you can show Gabriella around."

Troy nodded, but on the inside, he was trying to think of any possible way to get out of it. He knew his friends would just torment him all day if he so much as showed her around, even if he pretended not to actually know her.

Gabriella glanced over at Troy, and she could immediately tell he was deep in thought. She figured he was probably thinking of a way to get out of showing her around, meaning she would be left alone in a new school and unable to ask for directions. She couldn't say she didn't like Troy since she knew little about him, but he did scare her a bit. She didn't know what was worse, being alone in a new school or being shown around by a guy like Troy who had a bad attitude.

Once Troy had finished eating, he stood up from the table and put his dirty dishes in the dish washer. After saying goodbye to Mary, he started walking towards the door, expecting Gabriella to follow him, which she did after a moment's hesitation.

Once outside, Troy led her to the bus stop without saying a word to her until they were a block away, where Troy stopped and pulled Gabriella out of view.

"Now, remember what I said yesterday?" Troy asked, cutting to the chase.

Gabriella nodded. _'How can I forget?'_

"Good, those rules take into effect now," Troy said and started walking away.

Gabriella sighed miserably and followed him a few feet behind. It was times like these that she wished for just one minute she could speak because that would be long enough for her to put people like Troy Bolton in their places, but even with a voice, she probably wouldn't anyway because she wasn't that kind of person.

"Yo, Troy, who's the girl?" someone asked him as they reached the bus stop. Gabriella looked at the boy, who was now giving her a strange look as if to say 'Who are you, and why are you here?'

"No one, Jase, she's just my new neighbor," Troy lied.

"What's up with her face?" Jason asked him and laughed. "It looks diseased!"

'_I'm standing right here, you know!'_ Gabriella thought bitterly, willing herself not to cry. She knew he was definitely one of Troy's friends because they were both obviously jerks.

Troy laughed along with him. "Yeah, but from what I heard, her home burned in a fire, which is why she moved here. She can't talk either."

"That's ridiculous. Sure it's not just an act?" Jason asked him.

"I hope not," Troy said with a laugh. "Just one less girl who won't shut up to put up with."

Gabriella wished she could run away from both of them, but she couldn't give them the satisfaction of letting them know they had won.

Luckily for Gabriella, the bus came into view a few seconds later. Troy and Jason immediately got on and sat in the back. Gabriella got on after them and searched for a seat. She wanted to sit alone, but someone occupied every seat, so she picked a seat towards the front of the bus. The person she sat next to was a short, quiet-looking girl with short, auburn hair and glasses. The girl turned from the window and gave her a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm Kelsi," she greeted her.

Gabriella gulped. Now was when she really wished she could talk. Kelsi appeared to be nice, and she certainly didn't want to seem stuck-up.

"Um, are you okay?" Kelsi asked her after a long pause.

Gabriella stuck her index finger up, signaling for her to wait a minute. She started opening her bag and soon pulled out a notebook and pen. Kelsi watched her as she began writing something on a blank sheet of paper before handing it to her.

_I'm Gabriella, or Gabi for short. I lost my voice after a fire destroyed my home, which is also why my face looks the way it does._

Kelsi looked at her, stunned for a moment before handing her back the notebook. "Wow, that's terrible! Is your family okay?"

Gabriella quickly wrote her response on the paper and handed it back to her. After reading her answer, Kelsi gasped and looked back up at Gabriella, who had a calm expression on her face, much to Kelsi's surprise.

"Oh my gosh, Gabriella! I'm so sorry!" Kelsi cried. To her, Gabriella seemed like a pretty nice person, and she certainly wasn't the type who deserved such bad luck in her life. She felt that it was people like Sharpay Evans and her boyfriend, Troy Bolton, who deserved it. They acted as though they were the King and Queen of East High, but the couple treated everyone who wasn't a jock, cheerleader or a drama club member like dirt. However, Kelsi knew that if Sharpay wasn't his girlfriend, Troy would look down upon the drama club as well.

"But, if your parents are, you know, then who are you living with?" Kelsi asked after a brief moment of silence.

Gabriella remembered that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone that she was living with the Boltons, but she didn't want to lie to Kelsi. Even though they had just met, Gabriella had a feeling that Kelsi was someone she should hold on to as a friend, and she definitely didn't want to lie to her.

Quickly, Gabriella wrote down her response and handed it to Kelsi.

_Don't tell anyone. I'm living with my godparents, the Bolton's._ Kelsi's eyes widened in shock a she read her answer. She didn't know Mrs. Bolton, but she knew Mr. Bolton and Troy. Mr. Bolton was the gym teacher and basketball coach, and he was okay, but Troy was one of the worst. He wasn't accepting of change, and she knew that Gabriella being there would bring conflict in the Bolton household if it hadn't already done so.

"I feel so bad for you!" Kelsi said once she was over her shock. "Is it bad living there, with _him_?" Kelsi motioned towards the back of the bus where Troy and a few others were sitting and talking.

After writing her response on the paper, Gabriella handed it back over to Kelsi.

_He told me not to tell anyone where I live, or that I even know him. He also said he's glad I can't talk._

"Typical," Kelsi said after reading her reply. "However, I'm not surprised. He treats a lot of people like dirt. He and his jock friends especially go after the smarter kids."

Gabriella gulped. She was one of the smartest students at her old school, so did this mean Troy and his friends would target her? It was enough that he ignored her while they were at home; she didn't need to be pushed around by him at school.

"Uh, so, Gabriella, who's homeroom are you in, do you know?" Kelsi asked, quickly changing the subject after noticing Gabriella's nervousness.

Gabriella quickly wrote down her homeroom teacher's name and handed it to Kelsi.

"Ms. Darbus, huh?" Gabriella nodded. "Troy and Jason, plus all of Troy's other jock friends have her as well, plus his girlfriend and her brother. Good luck, you'll need it."

* * *

Gabriella and Kelsi continued talking or, in Gabriella's case, writing until the bus pulled up to the school. Kelsi showed Gabriella to the principal's office and gave her a tour of the school, even though it was supposed to be Troy's job, but he was glad to get out of it. 

"…Well, here's your homeroom," Kelsi said once she had shown Gabriella the rest of the school.

Gabriella looked inside the classroom and found an elderly woman wearing glasses sitting at a desk. From Gabriella's perspective, the woman didn't appear to be too friendly, but she hoped she was wrong.

"Um, Ms. Darbus?" Kelsi started shyly, getting the grey/blonde-haired teacher's attention.

Ms. Darbus looked up from her papers to Kelsi, then to Gabriella. "Yes?"

"This is Gabriella Montez, your new student," Kelsi explained.

"Ah, yes, welcome to East High, Miss Montez," Ms. Darbus greeted her. "There's an empty seat in the back you can have."

Gabriella nodded and walked towards the empty seat, trying to ignore the fact that just about everyone in the room was looking at her.

Meanwhile, in the front of the room, Troy was listening to his girlfriend, Sharpay, going on about how terrible the winter musical auditions were going to be.

"…I mean, there's no talent at all in this school! Well, except me, of course," the blonde stated, but then she remembered something, or someone. "Oh, and Ryan, I guess. But, still, he's nothing without me!"

"Hey! I heard that!" her twin said from behind her.

"Oh whatever!" Sharpay said and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you'll come to watch _my_ musical, right, Troy?"

"Yeah, of course," Troy answered, but he could think of a million and one better ways to waste his time.

"Good, I'll see you there!" Sharpay said, giving him a peck on the lips before walking back to her own desk.

Several minutes later, Ms. Darbus had begun talking about the upcoming musical. However, the only ones interested were Ryan and Sharpay.

"So, dude, what do you think?" a bushy-haired boy whispered to Troy when Ms. Darbus had her back turned. He was Chad Danforth, Troy's best friend since kindergarten, and he, like Troy, was a popular jock.

"About what?" Troy asked in a whisper, confused.

"The new girl!" Chad said in a loud whisper. "She looks weird. I mean, what's that on her face, anyway?"

Troy shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it's a skin disease?"

"Yeah, you better stay away from her! We might get it!" Chad said, forgetting to whisper. They now had the entire class's attention, including Ms. Darbus who wasn't happy.

Ms. Darbus glared at them. "Care to explain what was so interesting that you had to interupt my class, Mr. Danforth?"

"Not really," Chad answered.

"Say it or else I'll give you detention," she warned him.

Chad looked from Ms. Darbus to Troy, who had a nervous look on his face. If he didn't say anything, he would get in trouble with coach Bolton, but if he did tell, it would totally embarrass the new girl, who's name he still didn't know. Finally, Chad made his decision.

"Well? I'm waiting," Ms. Darbus said, growing impatient.

"Troy just said that the new girl might have some sort of skin disease," Chad said, sending Troy a look that basically said that he wasn't going down alone.

Half of the class started laughing, apparently all Troy's friends. Troy felt a pang of guilt as his eyes landed on Gabriella, who had her face buried in a book in an attempt to keep people from seeing her crying. He knew what he said was completely out of line, but there was nothing he could do about it now. The damage had already been done.

"Detention for both of you, after school," Ms. Darbus said sternly, handing them both a small sheet of paper each.

"But, Troy and I have basketball practice," Chad pointed out.

"Well, then you should have thought about that before you interrupted my class with your childish remarks," Ms. Darbus pointed out.

"But-" Chad started, but Troy cut him off.

"Save it, Chad," Troy said. "We're doing detention no matter what we say."

Chad sighed frustrated, but he didn't say another word, and Ms. Darbus went back to talking to the class as though nothing had happened.

* * *

As soon as homeroom was over, Gabriella practically ran out of the class to escape the stares and snickers. One of her worst fears was coming true. People were judging her based on her appearance, but none of them knew anything about her. She hadn't been there a half an hour yet and already she felt like a complete outcast. 

"Hey, wait up!" Gabriella turned around to see a young, African-American girl coming towards her. Confused, Gabriella stopped.

"What those two lunkheads said was terrible, and I'm so sorry that they said that!" the girl started. "By the way, I'm Taylor McKessie."

Gabriella smiled a bit and opened her notebook to a new page. Taylor watched in confusion as she started writing. Once she was done, she handed the notebook to Taylor, who read what she wrote:

_That's okay, I'm slowly getting used to it. I'm Gabriella, by the way. I can't talk, which is why I need this notebook._

"Whoa," Taylor said, looking back at her. "I'm so sorry to hear that!"

Just then, the late bell rang. Taylor groaned, for she believed that getting detention for being late would not look good on her future Harvard college application.

"Uh, what class do you have next?" Taylor asked her, and Gabriella handed Taylor her schedule.

"Oh, good! We have English together next! I'll just tell the teacher I was showing you around. What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Taylor said and led her down the hall.

'_At least they're not all like him,_' Gabriella thought to herself, glad to have at least two people there who weren't like Troy and his friends.

* * *

Once school had let out, Gabriella quickly rushed home to the Boltons. She was lucky that Troy had detention to serve after school, so she was glad she didn't have him to face him anytime soon. 

After she had arrived, she was greeted by Mary, who asked her whether her first went all right. She had just nodded and, in her own way, explained that she had homework she needed to get done and went upstairs to her room.

Once inside, Gabriella pulled out her diary and began writing.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was almost completely disastrous! Troy made some comment about me in homeroom, and ever since, his jock friends have been snickering and staring at me like I'm a freak! What have I ever done to him for him to do this to me? I didn't ask to live here! All I wanted was for someone to accept me for me, __is that too much to ask for?_

_Anyway, I met two other people today, Kelsi and Taylor. Both are seemingly nice, and they accept me for who I am (unlike some people). I have a few classes with each one, and I ride the bus with Kelsi, but she had to stay after school today and help set up __fo__r the winter musical auditions__ since she's the composer. Anyway, I also learned that __Taylor is the captain of the scholastic decathlon team. If I could talk, then I would join like I did at my last __school, but I'm useless without my voice._

_Well, hopefully things will be better tomorrow, but I r__eally doubt it. I've got homework I have to do, but I'll try to write some more tomorrow._

_Gabriella_


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hey, guys, I apologize again for the late updates, but I do owe my reviewers a huge thanks for the 40+ reviews I got for the last chapter! Anyway, this chapter is kind of short, but hopefully it's better than nothing.

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine, just the plot.

* * *

"…Dude, I can't believe you got us in detention," Troy told Chad. Detention "Darbus style" was worse than regular detention to most students. Usually, it meant sitting in a room doing nothing. However, when assigned detention from Ms. Darbus, it meant helping the stage crew set up for the upcoming musical.

Troy grimaced at all the 'drama nerds', as he called them, as they walked past. He couldn't stand being anywhere near them. The only reason he was with Sharpay was because she was different. He still couldn't figure out why she was different to him, all he knew was that she was better to look at compared to most of the girls at East High.

"Hey, you're the one who made the comment about the new girl," Chad pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're the one who got us started on the subject," Troy shot back.

"Hi, baby!" Sharpay greeted Troy, giving him a kiss on the lips. "Thanks for helping out. Some people," Sharpay glared at Kelsi, who was rehearsing in the back before continuing, "aren't any help."

"She looks like she's helping," Troy observed.

Sharpay scoffed. "No, all she's doing is rehearsing the music. It's not like she'll be playing it in the musical anyway."

"How come?" Chad asked her.

"Because Ryan and I hired our own pianist that's so much better than her. She's only being used for the auditions, then, when they're done, she's done."

"Does she know that?" Troy asked dumbly.

"She'll find out during the auditions, when our rehearsal pianist shows up," Sharpay replied. "It's not like she's going to do anything about it."

"Yeah, really," Troy agreed. "She has a voice and never uses it, just like the freaky new girl, but two less to be bothered with."

The three didn't realize it, but Kelsi was no longer at the piano in the back. She had been standing behind them and she heard every word Troy had just said and she wasn't happy.

"Excuse me, I'd appreciate it if you insulted me to my face," Kelsi said sternly, shocking the three.

"Whatever, nerd," Chad said, snickering as Kelsi started walking away. However, Sharpay 'accidentally' tripped her, sending her to the floor, making Troy and Chad laugh harder.

Scowling, Kelsi got to her knees and started to gather her books. Chad had other plans. Grabbing one of her books, Chad took it and tossed it across the room, papers flying everywhere. Kelsi sighed and started picking them up without a word spoken, knowing that the reason she was picking up papers was because of the last time she tried to speak up for herself.

"What is going on over here?" Ms. Darbus asked, coming towards them looking annoyed.

"Nothing, Ms. Darbus. Kelsi just tripped," Sharpay replied innocently.

Kelsi remained silent as Ms. Darbus continued making her rounds. She had a voice, why couldn't she use it? It's not like she was like Gabriella who didn't have a voice.

"We should get back to work before she comes back," Troy suggested.

"Yeah, we don't need another detention," Chad agreed.

* * *

After detention, Troy found his father in the main lobby, an angry look on his face. Troy gulped, knowing what was to come. Word travels fast from the teachers and he knew the reson he got detention must've gotten back to his father.

"Uh, hey, Dad, sorry about missing practice," Troy started nervously.

"I know what happened. We'll talk about this in the car," Jack replied.

"But, how did you find out?" Troy asked as they started walking.

"Darbus told me, and I'm glad she gave you detention," Jack answered. "How would you like to be in Gabriella's shoes?"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in her situation," Troy said.

"What she's going through right now is terrible, so cut her some slack. Why don't you try getting to know her? You might actually like her."

"Dad, how can I like someone who can't even talk? She's just some ugly nerd with a bad life! I don't need someone like her ruining my life!" Troy stated.

"Ruin your life? Troy, ever think that maybe you're ruining hers? She's been through a lot and she doesn't need someone like you making her life worse! If you'd give her a chance, she might surprise you," Jack said.

"Maybe I don't wanna know the surprise."

* * *

Groaning, Troy knocked on the door to Gabriella's room. His father had finally won the argument that started on the way home which forced Troy to apologize to Gabriella whether he felt she deserved one or not.

After knocking on the door, Troy waited for Gabriella to open it but no response. Impatiently, Troy opened the door to find Gabriella sitting on the bed, her back facing him. Apparently, she hadn't heard the door open, for she never turned around.

"What? Are you deaf, too?" Troy said coldly, causing her to jump. To Troy, Gabriella looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm here." Gabriella nodded slowly.

"I'm here to apologize for earlier," Troy explained, a bit of reluctance in his voice.

Gabriella gave him a stern look, not believing anything he was saying and Troy could tell.

"Look, I'm only here because my father is making me. I really couldn't care less if you believe me or not." Troy started walking out of the room, but his eyes landed on a certain book on her nightstand-her diary.

"You still keep a diary?" Troy snickered. "Don't normal girls outgrow them in, oh, around fifth grade? Oh right, you're not normal, I almost forgot."

When Troy picked it up, Gabriella gasped silently and tried to grab it from him, but Troy kept moving it just out of her reach. Smirking at her futile attempts, Troy opened the small book to a random blank page and began to speak, "Dear diary, my name is Gabriella Montez and I'm an ugly nerd. No one will ever date me because I scare away every guy who sees my hideous face."

Sitting back down, Gabriella bit her bottom lip to keep herself from crying as he continued.

"No one loves me. They all call me a geek, but I can't blame them. Even my own parents couldn't stand me."

His last sentence stung worse than anything Gabriella had ever heard before. Looking down, a small tear ran down her face, not going unnoticed by Troy.

Guiltily, Troy put the diary back down and turned to her, now serious. "Look, I was just having a little harmless fun. I'm sure your parents weren't that cruel."

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, Gabriella wrote a short, clear message and handed it to him.

"Leave? Whatever, I don't want to be here anyhow. I shouldn't be near those below my status, it's bad for my rep." With this, Troy started walking out of the room. Once he was gone, Gabriella sighed and laid back on her bed, knowing for sure that Troy was going to make the rest of her time there a living nightmare.

* * *

Later on, Troy was in his room doing his homework, or so his parents thought. In reality, he was laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, lost in thought about the one and only thing that could take his mind away from everything wrong in his life-basketball. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted when his cell phone started ringing. Groaning, Troy grabbed it and checked the caller ID, finding that it was Sharpay, someone he didn't feel like talking to at the time.

"Uh, hey, Shar," Troy greeted his girlfriend with as much cheerfulness as he could muster.

"Hi, Troy!" Sharpay greeted with enough enthusiasm for both of them. "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing really," Troy answered. "Why?"

"I don't know." she shrugged although he couldn't see it. "So, how'd the detention thing go over with your dad?"

"He let it go," Troy lied.

"You didn't tell him how you got it?"

"No." This time, he was being honest.

"That's good. People like that ugly new girl deserve what they get," Sharpay said.

"Uh, yeah," Troy said, trying to ignore the voice in the back of his head that told him otherwise.

"At least I don't have to worry about losing my priz-I mean, losing you to the freaky new girl."

"Yeah. Uh, look, Shar, I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Before Sharpay could say anymore, Troy turned his phone off and threw himself back on his bed, the same thought racing through his mind. _'Was she about to say 'my prize?''_


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I'm really sorry for not updating but I haven't exactly been the best lately. For nearly a month I've had a never-ending headache that no amount of pain killers can cure, but anyway, I know you've been getting impatient with me so I'll do my best. It's not that good but it's better than nothing.

Disclaimer: the characters are not mine.

* * *

Sighing miserably, Gabriella walked through the door of East High. A week had passed since Troy had tried to take her diary and their relationship, if you could call it that, had gotten worse. Chad and the rest of the basketball team had begun making fun of her after finding out she couldn't speak. Troy also joined in along with Sharpay. However, Kelsi and Taylor knew nothing of this for they always did it while those two weren't there. Jack and Mary also knew nothing about what was going on. Gabriella was afraid to go to school, for she never knew from day to day what would happen. 

From behind, someone purposely ran into her, sending her to the ground with a thud. Wincing, Gabriella sat up and turned to see several people laughing-the basketball team. Gabriella looked up and immediately knew which one had run into her.

"Hey, I knew you couldn't talk, I didn't know you were also blind," Troy said, smirking as he and the rest of the team ran through the halls, knowing no one would have the audacity to give the school stars detention, just like they knew no one would give Paris Hilton proper jail time.

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella started to grab her shoulder bag when someone else grabbed it instead-_Sharpay_.

Standing up, Gabriella went to grab it from the blonde's clutches but Sharpay smirked and kept hold of it.

"Looking for this?" Gabriella tried to take it but Sharpay kept moving away from her. "If you want it back, you have to say that Sharpay Evans is the best and most beautiful person in the world," she said and suddenly started laughing. "Oh yeah, you can't talk. I guess you won't be getting this back then."

"Sharpay, what are you doing?" Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Taylor coming towards them, angrily staring at Sharpay.

"Nothing that concerns you," Sharpay said snobbishly.

"Quit messing with her, Evans. She never did anything to you," Taylor stated and forcefully yanked Gabriella's bag out of her hands, stunning Sharpay momentarily.

"Yes she did. She exists! She's not one of the pretty people like me and Troy!" Sharpay said, wrinkling her nose. "Neither are you actually."

"If being one of your 'pretty' people means putting others down all the time, I'm glad I'm not," Taylor said, handing Gabriella her bag. "Come on, Gabi, let's get to homeroom."

Nodding, Gabriella followed Taylor, leaving Sharpay to mull over Taylor's words. Gabriella wished she could be like Taylor, free to speak her mind and not care what anyone else thought. She wanted to be able to stand up for those who couldn't, but she couldn't even stick up for herself. She couldn't speak at all, but even if she could, she knew she would never possess the backbone Taylor had.

* * *

"…So, after school is it okay if I come to your house? We can play some one-on-one, want to?" Chad asked Troy after homeroom. 

Troy froze. Chad didn't know about Gabriella, no one did. They wouldn't find out either, not if he had it his way. "Uh…what's wrong with your place?"

"Dude, you have a basketball court in your yard. Besides, if we play at my house, my mom would start yelling if the ball so much as touched the car."

"Well, you did break the windshield once," Troy reminded him.

"Yeah, but I was only nine," Chad defended.

"No, Chad, you were fifteen," Troy stated. "But nine, fifteen, same maturity level."

"Oh whatever," Chad huffed then smirked as he remembered something. "I hear the speechless chick lives near you. Maybe if I come over, we can get her."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," Troy said uneasily.

"Why not? I mean, what's she going to do?" Chad replied pointedly.

"Maybe we should ease up some," Troy said. "Let's not take it to an extreme."

"What's gotten into you? Yesterday you said she deserved it but now you're acting like you're in love with her," Chad said.

"What? Are you insane?" Troy asked, shocked. "How could I so much as like a girl who looks like _that_?"

"If you don't have feelings for her then why can't I come over and us two mess with her some more?" Chad asked.

"Because…." Troy was running out of excuses; he finally gave in, "Fine. Come over but I can't guarantee she'll be home."

Unknown to Troy and Chad, Kelsi and Gabriella were only a few feet away and had heard every word.

* * *

_Kelsi, what should I do?_ Gabriella wrote on an unscathed napkin during lunch. 

"Um, maybe they won't do anything with his parents around," Kelsi said.

_They'll find a way!_ she wrote, her face resembling her fear. She didn't understand why she was suddenly afraid. She had been around Troy nearly every hour of every day since she arrived in Albuquerque and she was used to him acting like a jerk, but the thought of being around him and Chad at the Boltons' worried her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Kelsi assured her friend. "If they do anything just tell his parents somehow."

Gabriella nodded before taking a bite of her sandwich. She wished she could disappear and then everyone could forget her. She could be one less burden to the world, mainly Troy. She knew he hated her the most. After all, she did suddenly enter his life unexpected. He had seemingly the perfect life, then she came along and somehow ruined it. _Maybe Troy would be happy if I died, _she wrote.

"Gabi, don't say, er, write that. I'm sure he's not _that_ heartless," Kelsi replied.

_I'm just a burden to him._

"Well he needs to get over it," Kelsi told her. "He needs to grow up and get over himself."

Nodding, Gabriella knew Kelsi was right. However, she knew someone would have to take a stand in order to get it through his thick skull that he's not the greatest human being alive but she couldn't do it. She couldn't talk let alone stand up for herself or anyone else.

* * *

After school, Gabriella was retrieving her books from her locker, Kelsi beside her, watching for Troy who they knew would come at any moment. As predicted, he stormed down the hallway towards them within seconds. 

"Neilson, get out of here. This doesn't concern you," he spat.

"Fine, I'll go," Kelsi said, refraining from saying she knew his secret, for Gabriella's sake.

Once Kelsi was out of earshot, Troy turned his full attention to Gabriella, his presence more intimidating than usual.

"Chad is coming over tonight," he started. "When we get there after practice, you had better be hidden, got it?"

Gabriella gulped and nodded, knowing it would be best to do as he said. Consequently, she knew she was in for an interesting evening.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: As always, sorry about the wait. I'm trying to start updating more often, like once the week starting now but I'm not sure how that will work out. Also, this chapter isn't that long, but it's mainly just a filler that leads into the next chapter. Anyway, thanks for the reviews.

Disclaimer: HSM is still not mine.

* * *

As Gabriella walked through the front door of the Boltons', she was immediately greeted by Mary. When she started to talk, Gabriella smiled apologetically and gestured that she had too much to do and couldn't stand and chat, or, in her case, listen.

"That's okay. We'll talk later," Mary told her and Gabriella left. Sighing, Mary slunk down on the couch. Gabriella might not have been able to talk, but there were other means of communication she could use. Mary wanted Gabriella to open up to someone, whether it was to her or someone else. This way she wouldn't feel alone and could possibly regain her voice. Unfortunately, Gabriella seemingly wasn't trying to talk, something Mary found discouraging, like she didn't want to regain her voice.

* * *

In her room, Gabriella grabbed her diary and a pen and began to write:

_Dear Diary,_

_Last night and today were the worst thus far since moving here. Stupid Troy was forced to apologize to me, but it was cheap and not sincere. Then, he found you and opened you to a blank page and said some pretty mean things I won't repeat because I'm trying to forget it. But, one thing he said really stung. He pretty much said my parents didn't love me. He is such a jerk! Just because I'm not in his social rank at school doesn't give him the right to treat me like dirt at home. He's seventeen, he should show more maturity than a five-year-old._

_Speaking of having the maturity of a five-year-old, his buddy Chad Danforth is coming over, yippee…. I guess this means I'm stuck in my room for the next several hours. Oh well, I don't want to be around Troy or Chad tonight anyway. Maybe I'll get a break. Wait, this is Troy I'm talking about. Of course I won't get a break…. Uh oh, I hear footsteps coming this way. Gotta go. I'll write in you again soon I'm sure._

_Love,_

_Gabriella_

Just as Gabriella closed her diary, someone began rapidly knocking on her door. She walked over and opened it, but much to her dismay, it was Troy.

"Chad's waiting outside. He won't find out you're here, understand?" he said sharply.

Gabriella gulped and nodded, not wanting to start an argument.

"Good. He's going home before dinner. I lied to my parents earlier and said I wanted you to be a secret for as long as possible then 'surprise' everyone in a few weeks, but no one will ever know, got it?" Troy said, intimidating.

Again, Gabriella nodded and Troy left her doorway. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gabriella shut the door, knowing this would be a long evening….

* * *

"…I'll get you this time!" Chad stated confidently, blocking Troy as he attempted to make a shot.

"Ha, like last time?" Troy replied, smirking as he started moving away from him whilst dribbling the basketball.

"Oh shut it, you cheated!" Chad retorted, keeping on Troy, trying to get the ball.

"Dude, unless I'm on steroids or pay off a referee, how can I cheat at basketball?" Troy questioned.

Chad pondered the question momentarily, but, in that moment, Troy made a lay-up and scored.

"Geez, Chad, you couldn't block a banana!" Troy teased his best friend.

"You cheated again!" Chad defended.

"How is that cheating?" Troy asked him.

"You're distracting me!" Chad accused.

"You call it cheating; I call it smart," Troy stated.

"Whatever. Let's take a break, cheater," Chad said, taking a seat in the grass.

"You're just tired of being beaten by me," Troy replied, sitting down next to him.

"Say what you want because it is I who shall have the last laugh when you're married to Sharpay and stuck raising ten kids," Chad joked.

"Like that'll ever happen," Troy replied. "Unless I'm under the influence."

Chad laughed. "Nah, you'll marry the nerd."

Troy gave him a disgusted look and replied, "I could never be that desperate. I'm better off turning gay before resorting to that."

"Whoa, dude, don't come anywhere near me!" Chad, said, moving away from Troy.

"Dude, I never said I was gay! I just said I'd rather be gay than marry her," Troy explained.

"Whatever," Chad replied. "Speaking of her, which house is hers?" Chad asked him.

"Um, they aren't home. I saw them leave right before you came and they haven't returned," Troy lied.

"Well, we can still get her," Chad said. "Maybe if we do something really bad, she'll go back to whatever planet she came from."

"Chad, let's not," Troy said. "It's one thing to pull pranks during school, but at home I think we should leave her alone, because the police could get involved."

"Hm…true, I guess. How about tomorrow, we set a trap for Queen Nerd?" Chad suggested. "Here's what we'll do…."

* * *

Sitting by the window, Gabriella had watched Troy and Chad play one-on-one. She had to admit, Troy may not have been as bad as she thought. While watching the two of them, she had forgotten how badly they treated her and just watched. After seeing how they interacted with each other, she couldn't see how they could be bullies. They acted like normal teenage boys when it was just them.

Gabriella listened intently to what they were saying, finding the 'cheating' argument they had gotten into rather amusing. However, moments after they decided to sit down, she heard them mention Sharpay. From Troy's reaction, it was apparent he wasn't as into her as she had originally thought. Then, Chad mentioned 'the nerd' which Gabriella knew was her. Again, Troy looked disgusted. She couldn't blame him though; no guy would want a girl like her.

As Gabriella continued listening, she felt hurt as they continued talking about her. She wanted to disappear, that way she wouldn't be such a burden. But, they had no right to talk about her like that; she never did anything to them.

Their voices suddenly grew quiet; too low for Gabriella to hear. She had a feeling that this wouldn't be good for her. _'They're probably plotting their next attack,'_ she thought and sighed. _'Tomorrow should be 'fun'.'_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters of HSM are not mine.

* * *

A few days passed and went by as normal. The jocks continued to torment Gabriella more each day, but Gabriella chose to ignore them; although deep down, it was hurting her.

Tuesday morning of the following week, Troy walked into Gabriella's room to find her still fast asleep. Smiling absentmindedly, he couldn't help but to think she looked cute when she was asleep. There was also a smile on her face. It was the first time he had seen her smile since she arrived there, and he wished she would do it more often. _'What am I thinking? She's a burden to society!'_ he told himself, shrugging away his previous thoughts.

"Nerd with no voice, time to wake up," Troy said quietly enough that his parents couldn't hear but loud enough to wake Gabriella.

Stirring, Gabriella opened her eyes slowly, but she became fully awake upon seeing Troy beside her bed. She gave him a confused look, her way of asking why he was there. He must've understood for he said, "Mom wanted me to wake you up."

Gabriella nodded and walked over to her closet, grabbing an outfit at random. Turning back around, she found Troy still standing there, staring at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but as always, she was unable to say a word.

Troy smirked when he saw this. "What's that? Speak up, I can't hear you."

Gabriella scowled and picked up her notebook. She wrote two, simple, large, bold words and threw it at him.

"Whoa, watch it, Montez," he said after he read her message, which clearly stated to leave. "You tend to forget whose house this is. I don't have to get out if I don't want to."

Taking her notebook back, Gabriella quickly wrote another message and handed it back to him.

'_You will unless you want to watch the ugly nerd get dressed,'_ Troy read silently then replied, "Yeah, I don't want to throw up this morning." With that said, Troy walked out of the room, giving Gabriella a moment of peace.

Sighing, Gabriella got ready for school, knowing that today was going to be another long day.

* * *

Much to Gabriella's surprise, the school day went by quickly and without being bothered by Troy, Chad or any of the others. She hung out with Kelsi and Taylor throughout most of the day, and they hadn't bothered them either. They found it strange but chose not to worry about it.

After school, Gabriella walked outside, but, before she could get far, Troy grabbed her by the hand from behind.

"Hey, Gabriella, come with me a sec," Troy said, sounding nicer than usual which she found rather peculiar. However, she couldn't help but to like the feel of his gentle hand. For a bully, she had to admit that he had soft hands, the opposite of what she had previously thought.

'_Wait, what am I thinking? He's a jerk!'_ Gabriella shrugged the feeling aside and shot him a questioning look.

"Relax, I'm not gonna pull you into a room and beat you to death," Troy assured her.

Reluctantly, Gabriella followed him back into the school. They finally stopped in front of the gym. Troy opened the door and motioned for her to go first. Unknown to Gabriella, a string was on the floor in front of the door. When Gabriella stepped on it, a bucket tipped over and released a sticky, red substance. Panicking on the inside, Gabriella looked down, her clothes were covered in red paint.

"Smooth, nerd!" Teary-eyed, Gabriella looked up to see Chad and Jason entering through another door; they were both laughing along with Troy.

Turning around, Gabriella's eyes met Troy's briefly. Upon seeing the hurt and anguish in her eyes, he turned away guiltily.

"Now that's school spirit!" Jason jeered.

"Nice job, Troy!" Chad gave his friend a high-five followed by Jason.

Unable to take any more embarrassment, Gabriella ran away, leaving the three there to laugh at her humiliation.

"Run, nerd, run!" Jason hollered after her.

"Guys, are you sure that we didn't take it too far? I mean, she seemed more upset than usual," Troy observed, unable to shake the hurt in her eyes from his memory.

"Relax, Troy, she'll get over it," Chad assured him. "Since when did you start caring, anyway?"

"I don't care, I just don't want to get in trouble," he denied, starting to walk out of the gym, followed by Jason and Chad.

Taking another direction from the other two, Troy walked upstairs until he reached the garden on the roof. Usually, he was the only who went there, especially after school. However, today, he wasn't alone.

Quiet sobbing could be heard coming from the far corner of the garden. Troy had a terrible feeling he knew who it was, and as he drew closer, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Quit crying, it was just harmless fun," Troy told Gabriella.

Looking up, Gabriella wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at him angrily, her expression telling him everything.

"Just go home and clean up, no big deal," Troy told her.

Gabriella shook her head and walked away, leaving him there alone. Sighing, Troy followed shortly behind her. It was too late to catch the bus, meaning they would have to ride home with Jack, just what Troy hoped wouldn't happen.

Jack soon found the two teenagers, but upon seeing Gabriella's state, his smile turned upside down, figuring he already knew what happened.

"Dad, before you fly off the handle, I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this," Troy lied. Gabriella shot Troy a disgusted look, which told Jack otherwise.

"I'll deal with you at home," Jack told him sternly.

Troy groaned, knowing this wouldn't be good.

* * *

The car ride home was spent in a tense silence. Staring out the passenger side window, Troy contemplated what had happened. He had to admit, what they did to Gabriella was taking it a bit too far in his opinion, but it was too late to admit that now. _'Oh well,'_ he thought. _'It's not like she can yell at me or whine around about it.'_

When they got home, Gabriella immediately ran inside the house and to her room, while Troy walked at a snail's pace, wanting to prolong the wait of his punishment as much as possible.

"Jack, what's wrong with Gabriella?" Mary asked worriedly.

"Ask our son," Jack retorted.

"Hey, it's not all my fault," Troy defended. "It was Chad's idea."

"But you went along with it," Jack stated.

"Whatever. Just give me my punishment," Troy told him.

"Your punishment? There is none," Jack said. "But, if I catch you tormenting her one more time, you're off the team."


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I know I promised an update every week and I missed last week but something very unplanned happened a couple days after my last update and so my writing time has been minimal to none per day. But, I'll do my best to update when I can.

Disclaimer: HSM is still not mine.

* * *

"What?! Why?" Troy asked, unable to believe what he was hearing. His father wouldn't kick him off the team, would he? 

"I don't want someone with that kind of attitude on the team," Jack replied. "You guys represent the school, believe it or not. And, that's a very bad representation if the school's star basketball player bullies a girl who's suffered a terrible tragedy in losing her parents and her voice."

"But, what about the others? I'm not alone in this!" Troy pointed out.

"Right…As for them, first thing tomorrow, you're telling them the truth about Gabriella and that she's living here," Jack started. "Then, I'm gonna have a little chat with them after practice. If they continue after that, they'll be suspended from the team indefinitely."

"But why do I get kicked off if I continue when you only plan to suspend them?" Troy questioned.

"Because, you're my son and I raised you better than that. I especially can't let you get away with it since she lives in the same house as you," Jack stated.

Troy scoffed. "It's not fair though! She can't talk, so why does it matter?"

"She's still a person, Troy! Stop focusing on what she lacks and focus on what she has! She has a beating heart, she has feeling that are easily hurt, she has two eyes to see everyone who is making fun of her, and two ears to hear you and the others making fun of her! Just because she lost her voice doesn't mean you're not hurting her, she just can't say so."

Troy stayed silent momentarily. He never thought of it that way. He knew that, when a girl was mad or upset, she would vocalize it usually, but Gabriella couldn't. If she wanted to yell to blow off steam, she couldn't. If she was crying, she couldn't tell anyone why. If she wanted someone to comfort her, all she could do was hope that the person was smart enough to realize her needs.

"Why should I care?" Troy asked suddenly, looking at the floor. "That's the job of her friends to watch over her."

"Because she needs someone to help her. You made everything worse so you owe it to her to help her," Jack explained.

"I owe her nothing," Troy retorted.

"If you don't, you're off the team," Jack stated simply.

Troy sighed, defeated. Basketball was all he really had, it was the only thing that he was truly himself. Without it, he had nothing. "Fine," he said, giving in reluctantly. "But, you can't punish me for what the others do."

Jack smiled slightly. "Don't worry, they won't do anything."

* * *

In her room, Gabriella laid sprawled out on her bed, her head buried in the sheets. She wanted to go away, to disappear forever. No one would care if she did go missing. Heck, she figured no one would even notice. Deep down, she felt she should've been the one to die in that fire, not her parents. She felt she was suffering more by living than she would've if she was dead. 

Pulling herself to a sitting position, Gabriella gingerly grabbed her pen and diary and began to write, just like she had many times since coming to Albuquerque.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was the worst thus far. Troy thought it'd be fun to pull me into the gym so I could be covered in red paint! Ugh, he is such a jerk! Why do I have to be his victim? I never wronged him in any way! Oh right, I can't talk, I can't speak up for myself, that's why. I wish I could regain my voice. The doctor says I should be able to talk so why can't I? Am I subconsciously waiting for something big to happen? I'm not sure but I do know that I'm tired of Bolton's stupid pranks! I wish I could just treat him the same way he's treating me, but I can't. I'm living in his parents' home. They can easily kick me out if I cause trouble. Oh well, I'm a burden to them, too, they just haven't come out and said it. Maybe I should crawl in a hole and die. That way, no one has to be bothered by me._

Before Gabriella could write more, there was a loud knock on her door. She looked up but didn't make any move to open it. After several seconds, the person grew impatient and opened the door. Upon seeing Troy, Gabriella quickly closed her diary and shot him a look as if to ask 'why are you here?'

"I'm here to apologize," he answered, leaving out the reason as to why he had to apologize.

Picking up her tablet, Gabriella quickly wrote him a message and handed it to him.

'_I don't want to hear it' _Troy read silently and replied, "You will anyway. I know that what the guys did earlier was out of line. I'm sorry I let them go through with it."

Gabriella's mouth was agape. He sounded like none of it was his fault. He acted like it was all Chad and Jason's faults. He led her to the gym knowing what they were planning to do, then he laughed along with them after it happened. He was no better than the two who set the trap, probably worse.

'_So none of this is your fault?' _Gabriella wrote and handed it to him.

"Exactly!" Troy exclaimed. "It was Chad's idea, not mine! Jason offered to help set it up so I did nothing. They just told me to go get you and lead you to the gym. So really, I did nothing wrong."

Rolling her eyes in disgust, Gabriella threw the notebook down on the floor and walked out abruptly. Confused, Troy watched her leave wondering what he did wrong. He apologized, so why was she mad?

"Women," he muttered. "The world could do without most of them."

Looking down at her bed, Troy noticed for the first time that her pillow was wet, telling Troy that she had been crying. This realization caused the pang of guilt he felt before to worsen slightly. Carefully, Troy picked up the notebook from the floor and flipped it open, curiosity getting the best of him. He soon found a page that caught his attention. His name was written in various places and as he read, his eyes grew large. She told someone about her living arrangements. As he read on, he realized it was Kelsi who knew. Luckily for him, Kelsi never told anyone. If Taylor would've known, Troy knew she would've told everyone because she especially hated him and all other jocks.

Noticing her diary on the bed, Troy tossed her notebook aside and picked it up instead. "For someone who's so secretive and smart, she apparently isn't smart enough to lock it," he said aloud to himself. Without caring, he opened it and began reading it...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

* * *

"I shouldn't be doing this," Troy said aloud, although, he flipped through the diary anyway. 

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I arrived at the Bolton's. The house is pretty much the same size as my old home. Jack and Mary seem pretty nice, but their son, Troy, doesn't seem too happy. Then again, if someone I didn't know suddenly moved into my house and my life, I'd probably be a bit resentful, too. However, I definitely wouldn't tell the person to pretty much stay away from me, especially not if they came from a situation like the one I just came from. Hopefully I can just avoid him for the most part because he doesn't seem like the nicest person to be around. Well, anyway, I start school tomorrow. I hope no one tries to talk to me so they don't think I'm stuck up or something. Hopefully I won't be known as the school's 'Freaky Math Girl' again. If anything, I'll probably be known as just a freak when people see my face, let alone the rest of my body._

If Troy wasn't feeling guilty before, he certainly was now. He was pretty cold when they first met but it worsened, that made him feel worse.

Flipping to the next page, he continued reading,

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was almost completely disastrous! Troy made some comment about me in homeroom, and ever since, his jock friends have been snickering and staring at me like I'm a freak! What have I ever done to him for him to do this to me? I didn't ask to live here! All I wanted was for someone to accept me for me, is that too much to ask for?_

_Anyway, I met two other people today, Kelsi and Taylor. Both are seemingly nice, and they accept me for who I am (unlike some people). I have a few classes with each one, and I ride the bus with Kelsi, but she had to stay after school today and help set up for the winter musical auditions since she's the composer. Anyway, I also learned that Taylor is the captain of the scholastic decathlon team. If I could talk, then I would join like I did at my last school, but I'm useless without my voice._

_Well, hopefully things will be better tomorrow, but I really doubt it. I've got homework I have to do, but I'll try to write some more tomorrow._

Troy sighed, remembering his comment. He had only meant for Chad to hear it, not the rest of the class. Thinking back, he realized that what he said was wrong and no one, even Chad, should've heard it.

Flipping past a few pages, Troy turned to her most recent entry, the one he knew would be centered around what his friends had done to her that day.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was the worst thus far. Troy thought it'd be fun to pull me into the gym so I could be covered in red paint! Ugh, he is such a jerk! Why do I have to be his victim? I never wronged him in any way! Oh right, I can't talk, I can't speak up for myself, that's why. I wish I could regain my voice. The doctor says I should be able to talk so why can't I? Am I subconsciously waiting for something big to happen? I'm not sure but I do know that I'm tired of Bolton's stupid pranks! I wish I could just treat him the same way he's treating me, but I can't. I'm living in his parents' home. They can easily kick me out if I cause trouble. Oh well, I'm a burden to them, too, they just haven't come out and said it. Maybe I should crawl in a hole and die. That way, no one has to be bothered by me._

Troy gulped. He never imagined that she would be thinking like that. His parents cared about her, they never thought she was a burden. However, Troy knew he was the one who led her to believe that she was a pest to everyone around her.

Lost in his own thoughts, Troy didn't hear someone walk in until the said person smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Troy said, rubbing the area he was smacked. Turning around, he found an enraged Gabriella standing behind him.

_How much did you read?_

"A few entries," he answered honestly. For this, Gabriella slapped him hard across the face, no longer caring that she was in his parents' home. She refused to stand back and let him read her most personal thoughts, especially when he could use them against her or taunt her.

"Shesh, you don't have to hit me!" Troy complained.

_You don't have to be a jerk, either!_

"Dad told me I have to help you through whatever it is you're going through or else he'll kick me off the team, so I can't bully you anymore," Troy explained.

_I don't need your help. _

"Oh really? You apparently need someone's help because your mind is screwed up," he told her. "I read how you want to crawl in a hole and die. You already can't talk, now you're suicidal?"

_It's none of your business._ She wrote, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Well I'm making it my business," he retorted, resisting the intense urge to reach out and touch her.

_You hate me and I don't like you, either._

"We got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we start over, like the last few weeks never happened?" Troy suggested.

_Why won't you leave?_

Troy chuckled. "Gosh, you're stubborn."

Gabriella stood up and was about to leave when Troy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto the bed, on top of him. The force caused Troy to fall back with Gabriella lying on top of him. Absentmindedly, Troy's right hand touched her face and brushed the hair out of her eyes. Alarmed, Gabriella pulled herself off of him but he held her with one arm, keeping her from leaving.

_Why do you suddenly want to be my friend?_ she wrote. _If this is only because of your dad, I want nothing to do with you._

"Would you rather have me be your friend or your bully?" he asked her.

_I don't need either one. Just leave me alone!_

"Look, if I can get the others to stop bullying you, will you reconsider?" he asked. Of course he didn't care about friendship with her, he just knew that if he didn't be her friend, his father would kick him off the team. That was all he was worried about, or so he thought.

_I'll think about it._

"Great! I'll go now before you permanently make your mind up," Troy told her with false cheerfulness and left her room.

Gabriella sighed. Truthfully, she wouldn't have minded being friends with him, if this was her first day or so living there. After all of his insults, pranks and cool personality, she didn't think he could ever be a good friend to her. It was most likely a set-up. He would befriend her and gain her trust only so he could crush her. She had seen plenty of guys like Troy and she knew they, including Troy, used people to get what they wanted and then they were done. Once basketball season was over, Gabriella knew that Troy would go back to being a jerk. That's the way Troy worked and Gabriella knew it.

* * *

The following morning, Troy made his way through the sea of people until he reached Chad's locker. Once a few feet away, he noticed Chad laughing and joking with Jason and Zeke and it sounded like they were discussing the events from the day before. 

"…Yeah, you should've seen the look on that nerd's face! Oh right, you couldn't because it was covered in paint!" Jason explained, laughing along with the other two.

"Guys, we need to talk," Troy started, interrupting their conversation.

"Sure, what's up?" Chad replied.

"Well, it's about Gabriella," he started.

"Oh, did she finally leave the country?" Zeke asked hopefully.

"No, there's something I haven't been honest about…." Troy said, stalling as long as he could before he had to tell them.

"Dude, don't tell us you're in love with that freak," Jason told him.

"No, ew! Don't ever think that!" Troy said, disgusted. "The truth is, her parents used to be close friends with my parents, and what happened was her parents became my godparents and vice versa. Her parents recently died in a fire, which means she lives with me."

The other three were silent for a moment, taking in the new information. Suddenly, all three erupted into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Haha, dude, nice joke!" Chad told him.

"It's not a joke!" Troy snapped. "My dad found out about yesterday and threatened to kick me off the team if I don't befriend her, and he said he'll suspend you guys if you don't stop bullying her."

"So it's no joke?" Jason queried, making sure he heard right.

"It's no joke," Troy confirmed. The three sighed in exasperation.

"Dude, parents take the fun out of everything," Chad stated.

"I know," Troy said. "At least he's not making you be friends with her."

"So why did you never tell us she was living with you?" Zeke asked him.

Troy shrugged. "You were better off not knowing."

"Troy!" Turning around, Troy watched his bubbly blonde girlfriend run towards them, though not at a fast pace due to her heels.

"Oh, hey, Sharpay," Troy greeted unenthusiastically. Once she had caught up with them, she wrapped his arms around Troy possessively and kissed him.

"So, whatcha talking about?" she asked them once she had released Troy.

"Troy was just telling us about the new girl," Chad started, smirking at his friend, knowing Sharpay would explode if she knew the truth.

Sharpay scoffed. "Isn't there something better, prettier, sweeter and nicer to talk about? Like me?"

Chad and Jason could barely contain themselves from bursting into laughter. Troy, on the other hand, rolled his eyes at her comment, regardless that she was standing there.

"We'll leave you two love birds alone, captain," Chad said, leaving with Zeke and Jason in tow.

"Look, Shar, there's something about Gabriella that you should know," Troy started, easing his way into the topic.

"Oh my gosh! She's bi and has a thing for me, doesn't she?" Sharpay assumed. "Tell her I'm not a bi bimbo like her!"

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Troy denied.

Sharpay shrugged. "No one, lesbians and bisexual people included, can resist my looks."

Troy turned his head and rolled his eyes. She was so stuck on herself. She seemed to care and love herself more than she did anyone else, him included. Lately, he had been wondering why he was even with her.

"Sharpay, you can be so dense at times," Troy told her rudely.

"Uh, excuse me?" she said, hands on her hips.

"N-nothing, nothing," Troy lied. "Anyway, about Gabriella. The truth is, she's living with me and my parents."

Sharpay's mouth was agape. "W-what?"

"It's true," Troy continued. "Her family died in a fire. My parents are her godparents so she has to stay with us."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked angrily.

"I just did," he replied.

"No, I meant before now! Are you having an affair with that freak or something and you didn't want me to know?" she questioned.

"Babe, of course not! She's just an ugly nerd," Troy assured her. "But, my dad told me that if me and the guys don't stop with the bullying towards her, he's kicking me off the team and suspending the others. He then said that I have to help her and be her friend."

Sharpay scoffed. "Your dad knows nothing! She's a nerd! You were just putting her in her place!"

"I know, but I have to do this," Troy stated.

Rolling her eyes, Sharpay retorted, "Whatever. But, you better not dump me for her."

"No fear of that happening," Troy commented, shuddering at the thought of ever dating someone like Gabriella.

"Good," Sharpay said and kissed him. By this time, no one, other than she and Troy, were in the halls. The warning bell sounded throughout the school, causing the couple to pull apart in surprise, much to Troy's secret relief.

"Come on, baby, we don't want to be late," Sharpay said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him to homeroom.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

* * *

"…So, Gabriella, I guess the whole school probably knows by now, huh?" Taylor told her friend later that day. As they walked down the halls, they could hear the whispers and murmurs of their peers. Questions like, 'Why are they living together?', 'Are they secretly together?', and 'What does Sharpay think?' were all they could seem to talk about, and Gabriella was getting annoyed by it.

Gabriella nodded and sighed, frustrated. This was all she had been hearing since around nine that morning. She didn't understand what the big deal was. Just because the new girl was residing in the same home as the popular jock didn't mean anything to her. He was a jerk; of course they weren't together, not even as friends.

"Nerds, what lies did you start?" Gabriella and Taylor turned to see the blonde ice princess coming towards them, her heels clicking with each step.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked, irritated.

"The rumors!" she snapped. "I don't know what stunt you're trying to pull but you have no right to spread these lies! Troy Bolton is mine! He would never date the likes of you! Just because you're lucky enough to live with him doesn't give you the right to say you're together!"

Gabriella tried desperately to speak. If she was waiting for a certain time to regain her voice, now was the time, she thought. However, she couldn't say a word.

"You can't even talk! You're such a freak!" Sharpay jeered after realizing Gabriella wasn't going to defend herself.

"Shut it, you blonde Barbie!" Taylor snapped, earning her much unwanted attention from those passing by, but that didn't stop her rant. "Gabriella can't stand you or Bolton! You can have that Neanderthal! We didn't start the rumors! And, she is not a freak! There are more mute people than just her! Wake up from that happy, peppy, pretty little world of yours and face reality!"

Gabriella glanced back and forth between the girls nervously. Both appeared to be irate and Gabriella knew that this wouldn't be good. However, much to both hers and Taylor's surprise, Sharpay simply huffed and sulked away, her head held high.

"That was close," Taylor said once the crowd that had gathered around them began to depart.

Gabriella nodded sadly, looking to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Taylor asked, noticing the depressed look on her friend's face.

Gabriella shrugged. She didn't know what was wrong with herself, either. What Sharpay said did sting a bit, she guessed. However, what Taylor said was right. She wasn't the only person on earth lacking a voice, but at least she knew hers was only temporary.

"Just ignore that dumb blonde. She doesn't know what she's talking about," Taylor assured her.

Gabriella nodded, although, deep down, she agreed with Sharpay. She was a freak; Troy would never date her which she was thankful for, but no other guy would want her, either.

"Come on, let's go to class before we get hollered at for loitering," Taylor said, snapping Gabriella out of her thoughts.

Gabriella nodded and followed Taylor to their next class, wondering what else could go wrong that day.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Troy had watched the scene between Sharpay, Taylor and Gabriella. Even though he was supposed to support Sharpay, he had to admit that Taylor may have been right. Sharpay didn't have the right to accuse them of starting the rumors, especially when Gabriella couldn't talk, which made spreading rumors difficult for her.

On the other hand, what if Sharpay was right? He wasn't sure, although, he did have a reason to suspect Taylor and Kelsi were using his predicament as a way to get back at him for all the pranks and mockery he had been apart of. Maybe it was revenge of the nerds….

The warning bell sounded through the halls, snapping Troy out of his thoughts. Groaning, he sprinted down the hall, knowing his father wouldn't be happy if he got another detention.

* * *

"…So, Gabi, are you going to let him?" Kelsi asked Gabriella. After school had ended, Gabriella had pulled her aside and explained her predicament to her.

Gabriella shrugged. _I don't know. I know he's a jerk and a major nuisance, but I feel obliged to do it. Maybe, under his demeanor, there's a whole other person longing to break free. I won't be out of anything if I'm wrong, but then there's still the trust factor. _She wrote and handed it to Kelsi.

"Well, whatever you decide, I'll back you up, all right? But, if he hurts you, I swear I'll--"

"You'll what?" The girls turned to see none other than Troy Bolton himself standing behind them, eyeing Kelsi suspiciously.

"N-nothing," Kelsi denied, feeling unnerved under his gaze. "I'll see you later, Gabi."

When Kelsi was out of sight, Gabriella turned to Troy expectantly.

"Walk with me," he said. Gabriella gave him a quizzical look, remembering the last time he had done this. "Relax," he assured her. "No paint this time, I promise. I just wanna talk to you."

Gabriella didn't budge. Instead, she reopened her notebook and flipped to a blank page. _Like I'm supposed to trust you._

"Hey, no one said you have to trust me. Just pretend like you do," he suggested.

_Like how you're pretending to be my friend?_ She questioned.

"Exactly!" he stated.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. _Whatever. I'll see you around._

Gabriella started walking away but Troy immediately grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. "Please don't go. I just need to talk to you, alone," he told her, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb, which was all part of the Troy Bolton charm. When he wanted something from a girl, he learned that all he had to do was show her a bit of affection and they were all his. As predicted, he felt Gabriella's body relax, but before it could take the full affect, she pulled away.

_No, Troy. Talk to me at home when I don't have to worry about your jock buddies._ She wrote and walked away before he could reply.

"Haha! Finally! A girl who didn't fall for it!" Chad teased, coming out of nowhere.

"Dude, you ruined it!" Troy yelled, ignoring his comment. "She probably saw you and thought we were going to pull another stupid prank!"

"You seriously wanted to talk to _her_?" Chad asked, dumbfounded.

"No, I didn't want to but I needed to," Troy said.

"And she dissed you?" Chad guessed, grinning.

"I guess you could say that." Troy rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment.

"The great Troy Bolton gets dissed by mute geek! I can see it in the headlines!" Chad teased, laughing hysterically.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I gotta go."

* * *

On the way home, Gabriella stared blankly out the window. She dreaded the fact that she lived with Troy then more than ever before. He would pester her for an answer until she finally agreed to let him in because that's the way Troy Bolton worked. He could be persistent when he had to be, and he wouldn't leave her alone until she said yes.

When the bus came to a halt, Troy, Jason, Gabriella and a few others stepped off the bus.

"Troy, are you sure we have to be nice to that thing?" Jason asked rudely as if Gabriella wasn't standing two feet away.

"Jase, she's a girl, a human being, not a thing," Troy corrected him, slightly annoyed. This comment surprised Gabriella. Maybe he wasn't that bad. Or, maybe it was all a trap. She wasn't sure but she leaned towards her second assumption.

"Whatever," Jason replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When Jason was out of sight, Troy turned to Gabriella and spoke. "By the way, I meant that."

Stopping momentarily, Gabriella wrote him a message. _Quit pretending to be nice. I know why you're doing this, so don't waste your time because I'm not going to fall at your feet like those bimbos at school._

"Look, when someone tries to get to know you, do you push them all away?" he questioned.

_Only the jerks._

"Look, I'm trying to be nice to you. I could be like the others and still insult you but I'm not," he pointed out.

_Fine. _She gave in. _Just promise me you won't go back to your old ways after the season ends._

Troy paused. He never thought about what would happen after the season ends. Would he go back to bullying her? Would his friends? "I do whatever my friends do. I can't make any promises," he stated, thinking that was his best response.

Gabriella rolled her eyes at his answer. She knew he would say something like that but she tried to give him the benefit of a doubt, but he only proved her point. _'Once a jerk, always a jerk,'_ she thought.

_You don't have to be like them. _She told him.

"They're my friends. I'm expected to act like them," he said.

_Then maybe they're not really your friends._

"What would you know? You're just one of those brains! The only difference is you can't talk," Troy stated. _'And you're slightly more attractive,'_ he mentally added.

_Everyone is different. We're not clones, you know._ She wrote. _And, you act like just because someone is smart then their whole life revolves around books or math or something like that. That's not true. And, just because you're the basketball team captain doesn't mean your life revolves around a basketball._

After reading her message, Troy thought about it. What she said, or wrote, was true. He did have hidden interests that only a few people knew about. For instance, he loved to play the guitar but he never once dared tell his friends or Sharpay. He had other interests as well that only his family knew about but he never dared mention them to his friends in fear of what they would think.

"I guess you're right," he finally said after a long silence. "But, I still don't know…."

_Your friends won't always be there to bail you out, remember that. _She advised.

"Uh, so, will you or won't you?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. The thought of not having his friends around for support was a bit too much for Troy to think about at that time.

Gabriella felt relieved, knowing that she at least gave Troy something to contemplate, although she knew he wouldn't. As for her answer, she wasn't one-hundred percent certain it was the right decision, but she went with her instincts and nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I'm really sorry for not updating but I've been really stressed lately and it sorta impacted on my grades (I passed all my classes amazingly) but that's over for 3 months, well, not really...I signed up for fast-paced summer courses to get the credits out of the way so I'll see how everything goes before I say when I'll update. But, I will say my main summer goal is to finish most or all of my current stories by the start of September. Anyway, I'll stop wasting your time those of you still reading which I thank you for that.

Disclaimer: I still don't own HSM.

* * *

When they arrived home, Troy and Gabriella slipped up to her room, figuring they had to make the temporary friendship convincing. Closing the door behind him, Troy followed Gabriella to her bed and sat down next to her.

"So…." Troy started awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

_Get to the point_.

Chuckling, Troy replied, "Impatient, are we?"

_Since we're here, we might as well talk about something._

"Right," he agreed. "So, what's on your mind?"

Gabriella shrugged, not wanting to bring the Sharpay incident into conversation.

"Oh yeah, I know what Shar did earlier," he said as if reading her mind, although receiving the opposite message. "I watched the whole scene earlier. I'm embarrassed to say she's my girlfriend."

Astonished, Gabriella raised her eyebrow. Troy seemed to find fault in what others did but never himself. It made him seem like an airhead.

"What she said was so childish. I mean, if I loved her, she shouldn't have to worry about me leaving her. She's very possessive. If I so much as talk to another girl unless I'm making fun of her, she jumps at the chance to start a fight! It's so annoying!" he ranted.

_Then why are you still with her_? She queried. However, before she could give him the message, Troy started talking again.

"I don't even know why I'm still with her! I'm not in love with her nor will I ever be."

_Then you should leave her._

"But that'll cause more drama," he pointed out. "Sharpay could have the whole U.S. army here if she really wanted to."

Gabriella couldn't help but to smile at this comment. _I think you're stretching it a bit._

"Yeah, but you get my point," Troy replied. _'Wait, why am I telling her all this?'_ he asked himself but pushed the thought aside when she handed him another message.

_Well, the longer you stay with her, the more you'll suffer._

"I guess." Troy sighed. _'Since when did I start taking advice from a geek?'_ he thought. _'Isn't she supposed to hate me?'_

_Besides, she's teaching you the bad habit of pointing out flaws and weaknesses instead of strengths and perfections. _She wrote, remembering all the times Troy and Sharpay had taunted her for her scars and muteness.

"Hey, I can see strengths!" he defended.

_Oh really? Then prove that you can point out someone's qualities without saying a word about their flaws._ She tested.

"Fine, I will." Troy smirked as he thought of the perfect example. "Jessica Alba is a goddess. She's God's gift to men and I'm thankful for that gift everyday. Her face, those legs and everything about her is perfection."

Gabriella shook her head, although amused. _How hard was that?_

"That was too easy," he answered.

_Try that with the people you bully._

"But, I can't," he replied. If he did that, it would ruin his reputation.

_Try it on me. Just find something about me that you like and then I'll do the same for you._ She suggested.

"Um, all right," he said, nervously eyeing her up and down. There was nothing he liked about her appearance, was there?

"Um…you're hair," he said, finally choosing something. "Your hair looks nice."

Nodding, Gabriella slowly lifted her hand and rested it on his cheek, her fingers surrounding his eye.

"My eyes?" Troy guessed. Gabriella nodded and removed her hand, much to Troy's dismay.

_You have very beautiful blue eyes that no girl can resist melting into. _She complimented.

"I know," he said cockily. Gabriella playfully hit his chest, but Troy just laughed. "You know I'm going to get you for that!"

_Don't you have anything better to do?_

"Nope," he answered, grinning. Being with Gabriella wasn't nearly as bad or boring as he thought it would be, and she actually listened to him.

Gabriella's smile dropped. This was too good to be true. Troy wasn't supposed to be this nice to her, especially not when he was only pretending. She wished he would act like a jerk again just so her heart wouldn't fall for his act.

"Gabriella, what's wrong?" he asked her, concerned, although Gabriella sensed it was false.

_Nothing. _She lied.

"Yeah, right," he said, disbelieving. "It's okay, you can tell me."

Gabriella sighed. _It's just that, I don't like that you're using me. I don't want a pretend friendship with you or anyone else._

"I see," he replied, deep in thought. "Well, maybe that's not what this is."

_You can't be serious. Troy, I'm just some ugly freak. What about your rep?_

"Well, there's nothing saying we can't be friends outside of school," he suggested.

_So you'll bully me by day and be my friend by night?_

"Sorta like that," he replied. "Or, I could avoid you as much as possible during the day."

_Why don't you just stop bullying me, period? I don't need your 'friendship'. All I need is for you and the others to leave me alone!_

"I'd stop but the others wouldn't," Troy told her sincerely. "Sharpay still bullies you and as soon as basketball season ends, the others will, too."

_Including you?_

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

Angrily, Gabriella pointed to the door, indicating that he needed to leave.

"What did you expect me to say? That I like you now and that I'd choose you over my friends?" he snapped.

_Just leave, Troy!_

"Fine, I'm going," he stated and left.

* * *

That evening, Troy sat on his bed working on homework when his cell phone started to ring. Groaning at the name, Troy answered it. "Hello, Sharpay."

"Hey, baby!" the peppy blonde greeted. "I miss you, you miss me, too, right?"

"Uh, sure…." he lied.

"So, how's it with the mute monster?" Sharpay asked him. "She hasn't tried to make a move on you yet, has she? If she did, I'll--"

"Shar, she hates me and I hate her," Troy assured her, not hearing the light knocking on the closed door. "She's just a mute geek, not even good to look at. I'm only doing this to get Dad off my back, remember?"

"Just don't get too close to her. She's so stupid she might start believing you're in love with her," Sharpay said, scoffing at the thought of Troy ever leaving her for Gabriella.

"Only she would think that," Troy said, chuckling at the thought.

"Just, promise me that this'll be over after basketball season," Sharpay told him. "I'm tired of no back-up."

"What about Crystal and Jocelyn?" Troy asked but soon cursed himself for giving her ideas.

"That's ok I guess…" she said blandly. "Wait! Here's a brilliant idea! I'll get Crystal and Jocelyn to back me up!"

Rolling his eyes, Troy replied, "Great, Shar. You're a genius."

"I know," she said arrogantly.

"Anyway, I gotta go, so bye."

Before he could hang up, Sharpay stopped him. "You forgot something."

Troy sighed. "I love you, Sharpay."

Sharpay squealed. "I love you, too! Toodles!"

After hanging up, Troy groaned and laid back on his bed. He hated lying to Sharpay, but he knew the consequences of breaking up with the "ice princess". Her last boyfriend, Eric Freeman, made that mistake. Sharpay spread the rumor that that he was bisexual and cheated on her with a man. Troy didn't want to go through something like that. It was best for everyone that he stayed on her good side for the time being.

Suddenly, the door opened. Looking up, Troy gulpewhwen met by Gabriella's icy stare.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Wow, twice in one week. This is a new one for me. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, as always they're greatly appreciated, although I'm not entirely sure about this chapter. It was just...I dunno...to me. But, I guess that's uop to you guys to decide.

Disclaimer: HSM still isn't mine.

* * *

Lying back on her bed, Gabriella sighed. She knew Troy's friendship was too good to be true. Even though she knew all along, her heart was aching. Her head wasn't falling for the act but her heart had been. She saw a tiny bit of good in him and thought she would change him, but she realized that that would never happen. However, she wasn't exactly mad at him. She didn't tell his father what happened or anything. She handled it to the best of her ability.

Flashback

_The door opened and Troy found himself looking in the eyes of the one whom he didn't want to see._

"_Gabriella, I can explain!"_

_Gabriella rolled her eyes and began walking away._

"_Wait!" he called, grabbing her arm. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean any of that! I just didn't want Sharpay on my back!"_

_Gabriella broke out of his grasp and glared at him in disbelief._

"_I'm really sorry you had to hear that," he said, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "The truth is, I'm growing to like you, but like I said, I didn't want to deal with Sharpay."_

_Gabriella sighed. It was a start, she guessed. However, she knew he was lying to cover himself. She didn't want to deal with him so she went back to her room, closing the door behind her. _

End

Pulling out her diary, Gabriella began her rant.

_Dear Diary,_

_Bolton is so infuriating! I told him we could have a 'friendship' but he was lying the whole time! I knew it! I caught him badmouthing me on the phone to Barbie! I hate them! Especially Bolton! But then, why do I feel this way? If I hate him then how can he hurt me? Ugh, this is confusing! I should've never agreed to his plan! Oh well, at least basketball season is over in three weeks._

As Gabriella was about to write more, the door suddenly opened. Quickly, she hid her book beneath her bed as Troy walked inside.

_What do you want?_

"I came to make sure we're cool…about earlier," he answered.

_Troy, I don't want to do this anymore._

"I don't either," he agreed. "I don't want to be friends with you one minute then put you down to other people. It really makes me feel bad."

_So it's over already?_

"No, I want to form some kind of friendship with you, I'm just saying I won't put you down anymore. It's not fair to you. You don't do it to me so there's no excuse for it. I'm sorry it took me this long to realize it," he explained.

Gabriella smiled slightly, sensing he was being sincere.

"So, will you pretend like this never happened?" he asked her. Reluctantly, she nodded. Hesitantly, Troy lifted her chin and wiped the tears from her eyes, as she had started to cry, from around her eyes, careful to avoid the burn scars. "You know, Gabriella, even with the burns, you're still prettier than most of East High's female population."

Gabriella smiled genuinely. That was the first time anyone had ever called her pretty since the accident. She never expected him to say it.

"I'll take that smile as a 'thank you, Troy. And you're the sexiest man I've ever laid eyes on'," he said, smiling cockily.

Rolling her eyes, Gabriella pushed him playfully.

"Oh now you're getting it!" Troy pushed her back on the bed and began tickling her uncontrollably. When Gabriella began to laugh, Troy was taken off guard, causing him to stop. "You can laugh?"

Gabriella, equally shocked, covered her mouth. Did this mean she could talk?

"Try talking! Maybe your voice is back!" he said, not understanding why he was this excited.

Gabriella tried to say something but still nothing. She tried again, this time a tiny sound, not even audible unless people were focused solely on hearing her could hear.

Troy smiled encouragingly. It was possible for her voice to come back to her, and if it was anything like her laugh, he knew he'd never get tired of hearing her.

Gabriella, on the other hand, clearly wasn't happy. She needed her voice back. She wanted to stand up for herself. She couldn't rely on anyone else to do it for her.

Sensing her frustration, Troy tried to comfort her, "Hey, you can laugh, that's a start. We'll work with it. I'll help you everyday to try to regain you're voice, if you want."

Smiling, Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck as a way of saying 'thank you'. Returning her embrace, Troy silently recalled the times Sharpay hugged him. It was more possessive and he hated it. However, Gabriella's hugs were simpler and more enjoyable.

"I'll take this as either 'thank you' or 'Troy, you're so hot that I wanted an excuse to touch you'," he stated, smirking.

_You're so full of yourself!_

"Hey, I'm only telling the truth," he defended. "Anyway, I have to finish my homework. I'll either see you later or in the morning, so if I don't see you again tonight, goodnight, Gabriella."

Smiling, Gabriella watched him leave the room, silently wishing he didn't have to go. She didn't understand how someone could be that nice to some people and bully everyone else. It was strange to her. Most people she knew were either pure good (or close to it) or just bad, never both. He was a mystery, one that she was determined to solve.

* * *

A few days passed by in the lives of Troy and Gabriella. After the incident, Troy hadn't said anything demeaning to his friends or Sharpay about Gabriella. In fact, he avoided any and all conversations about her. If he wanted her to be his friend, temporarily or not, he knew he would have to stop putting her down. However, with each passing day, this became easier. He began spending more time with her and had even started walking her to some of her classes, something he didn't even do for Sharpay.

Chad noticed everything happening and didn't like it. He was losing his best friend to a mute science nerd, which was also going against the flow. He refused to let this happen, though, which is why he stopped Troy at lunch, along with Gabriella.

"Dude, what are you doing? Are you too good to even eat lunch with us?" he questioned.

"No, of course not. I was just walking with Gabriella," he replied.

"You never walk with me to class or lunch! Are you cheating on me with this freak?" Sharpay yelled, knowing exactly what was going on, in her opinion. The guys jumped, unaware of her presence. Gabriella, on the other hand, had seen her coming out of the corner of her eye.

"No, I'm not! I can spend my time with whoever I want!" he argued.

Sharpay and Gabriella were both stunned. He had never yelled at Sharpay before. In fact, no one had ever had the nerve to do so. Gabriella, on the other hand, was shocked that he _wanted_ to spend time with her and would actually admit it out loud.

They watched as Sharpay sulked away but were soon brought back to reality by Chad.

"Dude, why are you wasting so much time with her? Your dad isn't making you get that close to her," Chad pointed out.

"Look, it's my business, ok?" he stated, his temper rising. "You guys act like I'm going to stop hanging with you guys because of her! That's not true! It's temporary!"

Momentarily, Chad could've sworn he saw a flash of disappointment in Gabriella's eyes. However, it quickly vanished when Troy began talking to her.

"Let's keep going. Maybe they won't follow," Troy whispered to her. Gabriella nodded and began leading him away from the others.

"We'll know when basketball season ends," Jason said as Troy and Gabriella began walking away.

"This better end after basketball season," Chad said but Troy didn't hear, for he was too busy talking to Gabriella.

"So, Gabriella, how was your day…minus that," he asked her.

_Good. Btw, I'm glad you said that to them, especially Sharpay. You have your own mind after all._

"Hey! Now you're saying I'm mindless?" he questioned, mock angry.

_No, I just thought you basketball jocks all had duplicated minds._

You should be thankful we don't. I know I am," he replied, causing her to laugh.

Once they got to Taylor and Kelsi, Gabriella sat down. Taylor and Kelsi looked from Troy to Gabriella, unable to believe what they were seeing, especially when Troy greeted them without making fun of them.

"I'll catch ya later, Gabriella," he said and walked away.

Looking curiously at her friend, Taylor spoke up, "What's going on with him? Is he on crack?"

Gabriella smiled and shook her head.

"Spill," Kelsi demanded.

_What? We've just reached a truce._

"Yeah, right…," Taylor said, disbelieving.

"Something more is going on," Kelsi agreed.

_Look, just drop it. Please?_

"Fine, but I hope you know what you're getting into," Taylor warned. "This is Troy Bolton, a total jerk, remember? Just because he's nice to you for a few days doesn't mean he won't turn on you."

_I can deal with it._

"Let's hope so."

* * *

"Sharpay! I told you already! I'm not cheating on you with her!" For the umpteenth time that day, Troy was being accused by Sharpay of cheating and he was getting tired of it.

"Well you certainly could've fooled me! You yelled at me, your girlfriend, and took up for her! That's not right, Troy!" Sharpay yelled. Luckily for them, school was out for the day and so they were alone, except for the girl watching from afar.

"Look, I don't like her! Don't you people get it? I'm only doing this because of my dad!" Troy stated. "I would never be…romantically involved…with her! I couldn't stand to look at her that long! She's a freak! She can't even talk!"

"Good, because if I find out that there's more, that hussy's going to get it!" Sharpay warned.

Annoyed, Troy watched his girlfriend storm away. He couldn't believe her; she had no control over whom he chose to spend time with. She couldn't hurt Gabriella just because _he_ wanted to hang out with her. Who did she think she was?

From afar, unbeknownst to Troy, Taylor watched the exchange from afar in disgust. He really was using Gabriella, as she suspected. As much as she didn't want to hurt her, she had to tell her or else Gabriella would become the laughing stock of the entire school.

* * *

That afternoon, Gabriella was sprawled out on her bed studying when her cell phone began vibrating, indicating she had a text message. Quickly, she read it and her eyes began to fill with tears.

_Gabi,_

_Troy hasn't changed. He's using u. I overheard him w/ Sharpay. He called u a freak! He said he's only doing this cuz of his dad! He's a jerk! I'm sorry, but I had to tell u be4 it was too late._

_Taylor_

Gabriella swallowed hard. How could he do this to her? He said he wouldn't talk badly about her anymore, but she should've known better. He only defended her at school so he could trick her. He and his friends were probably laughing at practice at that moment. _'That's okay,'_ she thought. _'What goes around comes around.'_


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

* * *

When Troy arrived home he greeted his mother before heading to his room. Throwing his bag on his bed, he decided to pay Gabriella a visit. Knocking twice to let her know he was there, he opened the door, only to be met by the back of her head.

Turning around, Gabriella glared coldly at the boy standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Gabi, what's wrong?" Troy asked her, coming closer to her.

Gabriella shook her head and pointed towards the doorway.

"I'm not leaving," he stated stubbornly. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Gabriella rolled her eyes as he sat down beside her. Knowing how girls ticked, Troy slipped his hand in hers and looked her straight in the eyes, engulfing hers in a sea of blue. Gabriella's heart melted as he began rubbing her hand with his thumb. Even though she was mad at him, she had to admit that his touch was amazing.

"Please, tell me what's wrong," he pressed. Even though it was supposed to be pretend, he felt real feelings for her, not in a romantic way, but more like a brotherly way.

Sighing, Gabriella grabbed her cell phone and showed him Taylor's message. Although she didn't want to and just wanted to be angry with him, she had an overwhelming desire to be with him.

Upon seeing the message, Troy was irate. He threw the phone down and looked back at her. No one was supposed to have been there. Gabriella wasn't supposed to find out what he said. However, he knew exactly how to make it right, unaware that this would come back on him in the long run.

"Gabi, I never said anything to Sharpay about you!" he lied.

Grabbing her notebook and pen, she replied, _Taylor wouldn't lie._

"Gabriella, I swear, I didn't say anything! I haven't talked to her except at lunch! You have to believe me!" The more he lied, the worse Troy felt. However, he knew that if he didn't lie, Gabriella would hate him and would tell his father.

"Taylor might not be as great of a friend as you thought because I never said anything to Sharpay," he continued. "I was at practice, anyone on the team will tell you that."

Reluctantly, Gabriella nodded, although something didn't feel right. Something about him didn't feel right but she wasn't sure what. Shrugging it off, she looked up at him as an indication that she believed him.

"Feel better now?" he asked her, withdrawing his hand. "I told you I'll never say anything about you again, I promise."

Again, Gabriella nodded and scribbled another quick note to him. _I just don't think she'd lie to me._

"Hm…maybe she's jealous because you get to hang with a hunk like me," he joked.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. _You need to get over yourself._

"Hey! You know it's true!" he argued.

_What? That you're arrogant and cocky?_

"Nothing wrong with being overly confident," he stated, glad that the conversation had mellowed down.

_Yeah, whatever you say._

"I knew you'd agree," he replied, grinning.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. How could she let him change the subject so easily? How could she let him off so easily? She wasn't sure but was kind of gladf she wasn't as hurt as what she had been. He had that effect on her, she guessed.

Sensing her uncertainty, Troy became serious as he spoke, "But, Gabriella, I'd never say that about you, except, well, you know. Like, what happened earlier, remember? I defended you."

Gabriella thought for a moment. He _did_ defend her, after all. Maybe Taylor had just heard wrong, or maybe it was someone else. Maybe he was telling the truth.

"Believe me now?" he asked her. She nodded. "Good, so is that all that's bugging you?"

Gabriella shook her head and wrote him another message. _Why does Sharpay act like a brat? Like, earlier, she had a fit just because you were walking me to class even though they're near each other._

Troy sighed. "It's typical Sharpay. She acts like she owns me."

_Troy, you're a great guy. Why are you with her, anyway?_

"I really don't know. I mean, I've been thinking about breaking up with her but I don't want more drama," he told her.

_Forget the drama! If you don't want to be with her then don't stick around. _she wrote, hints of concern showing in her features.

"You're right, I should break up with her, but I just don't want her to come back at you," he explained. "She'd accuse you of being the reason I dumped her and God only knows what she'd do."

_Forget me. This is about you._ Gabriella wrote, although touched by his concern.

"You're right, but I just don't want you to get hurt. I like you," he told her but quickly added, "as a friend."

_I can handle her. _She assured him. _Besides, after basketball season, you'll be done with me and therefore won't care what she does._

"Who ever said that?" Troy asked her, confused.

_You, today at lunch._

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. I just wanted to get the guys off my back," he explained. "But, I want to be your friend, even after the season. We might as well since you're living here."

_What about your friends?_

"If they don't accept you then I'm done with them," he simply stated. "To be honest, you're a better person than them anyway."

_You mean that?_

Taking Gabriella by surprise, Troy gently kissed her cheek. "I do."

Troy watched in amusement as Gabriella's cheeks reddened. "What? Has a hot guy never kissed you before?"

Rolling her eyes, she wrote, _No one as arrogant as you._

"Hey, I can take that kiss back," Troy warned.

_Go ahead._ She wrote.

"Fine, I will." Troy leaned in to kiss her cheek again but just as he did, the door opened.

"Troy, Chad keeps calling, I think you should answer, it might be important," Mary told him, oblivious to what she had just interrupted.

Groaning, Troy stood to leave after his mother left but turned to Gabriella, "I'll talk to you later, ok? I'll let you go back to your fantasies about my hotness."

Gabriella stuck her tongue out at him but he was already gone. Though she couldn't help but to smile at what had just happened. Other than her father, no guy had ever kissed her, and she certainly wasn't expecting a kiss from Troy. Maybe he was telling her the truth, or maybe it was too good to be true. Either way, she preferred option one.

* * *

"Chad, what is it?" By this time, Troy was in the backyard with his cell phone where he hoped no one would hear him.

"Dude, what has gotten into you? You blew us off at lunch for that nerd! Then, you blew us off again after practice, probably for her!" Chad yelled.

Troy sighed, aggravated. "It's none of your business."

"I'm your best friend! You're supposed to be able to tell me these things! Unless she already replaced me!"

"Wait! No one is replacing anyone! I can hang out with whoever I want, when I want! This isn't about you!" Troy shouted into his phone.

"What in the world has gotten into you? This guy isn't my best friend!" Troy listened as Chad's phone clicked.

Guiltily, Troy sat down on the porch step for reflection. What had gotten into him? He had never yelled at Chad like that in the twelve years they had been friends, this was twice in one day. And, what was up with him telling Gabriella he was dumping Sharpay? Sure, he was tired of her but he shouldn't have confided in her. And, why did he kiss her? That was a mistake. He didn't like her. She was his bully victim and temporary friend, that was all. Already she had changed him too much, for the worst, he thought. He knew it would only worsen if they remained friends.

"Three weeks," Troy said aloud. "Only three more weeks…."

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Oh my gosh! Troy just kissed me!! Ok, so it was only on the cheek, but he still kissed me! His lips are so soft! I thought I was going to pass out! I never thought the most popular guy would fall for me! He's even going to dump Barbie! Aside from earlier, today has to be the best day of my life!_

_Ok, now that that's out of my system. What else happened today? Troy stood up for me to his friends, sorta. He's coming around, though, I think. But, Taylor, on the other hand, I don't know what happened with her. She texted me saying Troy said some pretty rotten things about me, but when I asked, he denied claiming he'd never do that to me. I don't know who to believe. I can't believe both, can I? Maybe I should just forget it ever happened, that'd be better than trying to find out who's lying. _

_Anyway, I guess that pretty much covers everything for now. I have homework to do, so __I'll update you later!_

_Love,_

_Gabriella_


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I have some sad news (well, maybe not for some people) but I am on the home-stretch regarding this story. Not counting this chapter, there's exactly four chapters left and this story is over. And, I plan to have the story done before July 20th because I will be extremely busy for the next few weeks after that, so I figure it'd be best if I finish it before then. Anyway, thanks, as always, for the reviews. The next chapter should be up, hopefully, by the weekend.

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine, nor is the song "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain

* * *

Another week passed in the lives of Troy and Gabriella with only little drama. Tension grew between Troy and Chad, but Troy had been too busy to care. He had been too worried with figuring out how to sort out his Gabriella problem, which he realized after a few days wasn't as bad as he previously thought. If anything, she was helping him to be a better person, he realized. By yelling at Chad, he proved that he did have a mind all his own, instead of the lunkhead Gabriella previously saw in him.

On the other hand, Gabriella was secretly having struggles of her own. Taylor had been pressuring her about Troy ever since the incident. Taylor claimed she knew what she was talking about and that Troy lied to her, but Gabriella tuned her out each time. Gabriella felt that she didn't want to know the truth, anyway. With each day, her likingof him grew stronger, and she felt she'd die if she found out he wentback on his wordthen lied to her.

As Gabriella and Kelsi were headed to their first classes after lunch, they suddenly heard shouting coming from a nearby corridor. Giving each other a questioning look, both girls ran towards the scene, surprised by what they found.

"You're always trying to run my life and I'm tired of it! It's my life and it's time I take it back!" Troy yelled at the blonde before him.

"So what now? You're leaving me! You can't leave me!" Sharpay screamed.

"I can and I am," Troy stated, a daring look in his eyes. "Have a nice day. Better yet, have a nice life."

Sharpay, for once, was speechless, unable to retaliate as Troy began walking away. Everyone else began moving on as well, but when Sharpay saw Gabriella and Kelsi, she cornered them.

"Look at what you did, you freak!" Sharpay cried, her fists shaking angrily. "Just because you're life is a waste doesn't mean mine is! Troy Bolton is mine, not yours! Haven't I made that clear!"

"Sharpay, cool it!" Kelsi told her. "Gabi didn't do anything!"

"Oh butt out, Neilson! This isn't about you!" Sharpay hissed.

"Nor is it about her." Sharpay turned around and was once again left speechless, for behind her was her now ex-boyfriend. "Sharpay, leave Gabriella and Kelsi alone. They're not involved in any way."

Sharpay huffed and left the scene. Gabriella sighed in relief as she watched Sharpay storm off, knowing that Troy was a lifesaver.

"I told you this would happen, Gabi," Troy told her, resting his hand on the small of her back. "But, are you guys okay?"

Gabriella, feeling slightly flustered by his sudden affection, blushed and nodded.

"Well, I have to get to class, I'll leave you two alone," Kelsi told them and left in the opposite direction.

"So, why's your face all red?" Troy teased her once Kelsi had left. "Is it because an extremely sexy guy is touching you?"

Mock agitated, Gabriella playfully smacked his chest. Amused, Troy decided to mess with her a little. Gently, he ran his hand up her spine, making her more flustered than ever before. Troy smirked as she tensed under his touch, feeling dominate over her. However, neither was aware of the eyes watching them like a hawk.

"So, I'll see you after school," Troy told her once they reached her next class. "And, make sure you stay away from Sharpay, okay? I don't want her to hurt you."

Gabriella nodded, smiling as he walked away. He seemed so, protective of her, and, in a way, she liked it.

* * *

Sharpay was irate. Scratch that, she was past irate. She was infuriated. Seeing Troy with Gabriella made her want to vomit. Why would a guy like him choose someone like Gabriella over her? She was the one people adored, feared, followed, and loved, not her. Why did Troy have to be different? Why couldn't he just stick to the status quo?

No matter, Sharpay had a plan. After school, she found Gabriella at her locker, alone. Feeling that this was her moment, Sharpay marched up to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sharpay yelled, slamming Gabriella's locker door shut.

Gabriella, for once feeling slightly afraid of Sharpay, backed away, but Sharpay only got right in her face and knocked the books out of her arms. Hastily, Gabriella bent down to pick then up but Sharpay kicked her roughly in the stomach when she was down. Groaning, Gabriella stood back up and glared at Sharpay.

"You stole my boyfriend! You told him to break up with me!" Sharpay accused. "But, we both know Troy would never date the likes of you! He's so much better than that."

When Gabriella didn't respond, Sharpay became even angrier and slapped her hard across the face. However, before more could be done, footsteps were heard coming down the hall. Sharpay was about to leave but she had already been caught.

"Hold it, Miss Evans," Jack stated, holding back rage from what he had just seen. Sharpay wouldn't listen, but Troy, who was by his father's side, charged up to her and grabbed her by the wrist. "Troy, take Gabriella to the car, I'll handle the rest."

Reluctantly, Troy nodded and turned his attention to Gabriella, who, to Troy, looked rather upset. After letting go of Sharpay, he carefully placed his hand over Gabriella's stinging cheek, causing her to wince. "I'm so sorry, Gabi," he whispered, feeling this was all his fault. "Come on, I'll get you out of here."

Nodding, Gabriella allowed Troy to hold her hand as they walked out of the school, Sharpay watching in disgust.

* * *

"…Now, Gabriella, what did she do to you? I saw her slap you but did she do anything else?" Gabriella nodded and lifted her shirt slightly to reveal her bruised stomach. Troy gasped and slunk back in the seat. "Gabi…I can't believe she did that…this is all my fault!"

Calmly, Gabriella put her index finger over his lips, indicating for him to not talk as she wrote him a message. _Nothing is your fault, you're innocent._

"But, she hurt you because of me," he pointed out.

_But, I don't blame you so don't blame yourself._

"So, how are you now?" he asked her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder.

_I'm ok, I think._ She told him, forcing a smile.

Cautiously, Troy slid closer to her and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace, sensing that that was what she wanted. Smiling a real smile, Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her forehead. Looking her directly in her eyes, he gently brushed her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ears. Upon seeing her scar in full, for once, he didn't look away or grimace, much to her surprise. Instead, he stared straight at it for a few seconds before speaking, "You hate that scar so much, don't you?"

Gabriella nodded, allowing a small tear to slide down her cheek. She didn't understand why she wanted so badly to cry. She barely shed a tear over her parents' death; why was she crying now?

Gently, Troy brushed the tear away and gently fingered the scar. "Well, I'll tell you what that scar means to me. That scar means that I almost missed out on meeting possibly the nicest and sweetest girl on the planet."

Before Gabriella could respond, Troy tilted her chin upwards slightly before pressing his lips to hers. Gabriella, who was in momentary shock, pulled away in fear.

"Gabi, what's wrong?" he asked her, worried that he had done the wrong thing.

Gabriella shook her head and moved away from him, burying her head in her knees. However, before he could get an answer, Troy saw his father getting closer to the car.

"We'll talk later," Troy told her, silently telling her to make out as if nothing had just happened.

Gabriella abruptly lifted her head and put her feet back on the floor as she began hastily wiping the tears from her face. Troy watched this in remorse, feeling that he caused her to cry which definitely wasn't his intention. As Jack got in, Troy sensed this would be a long ride home.

* * *

Once home, Gabriella immediately ran to her room and locked the door before Troy had a chance to say a word. Troy pounded on the door but she refused to let him inside.

"Gabriella, please, let me in! Look, I'm sorry about earlier! I'm sorry about what Sharpay did and I'm sorry I took it a little too far! Gabi, I just want to talk to you!" Troy persisted. Just as he was about to rap on the door again, Gabriella finally opened it, although angry that he was there.

Troy sighed in relief, although the stone look gracing her features was directed at him. "Gabi, let's go in, so we can talk in private," he said, almost in a whisper.

Wordlessly, Gabriella led him inside but refused to sit down, but Troy also remained standing.

"Gabriella, I'm sorry if I came on too strong too soon earlier," he started. "But, the thing is, I like you, a lot, and I've never felt this way about anyone and so I'm not exactly used to it. Earlier, I was just, I don't know, acting on impulse. I've never felt so connected to anyone as I did with you in that moment, so I thought it was the right thing to do. I'm sorry I didn't exactly think of how you felt, I should've known you didn't feel the same."

The icy look on Gabriella's face had vanished with his words but was replaced by a skeptical one. Nervously, Troy watched as she started writing, feeling that this wouldn't be in his favor. When she was done, she handed it to him.

_I don't think I can believe you. I mean, you hated me so mu__ch, and if not for your dad threatening you, you still would, or you'd at least not be pretending not to hate me. And, you just broke up with your girlfriend, you probably just aren't used to not having her around so you're just using me._

"Gabriella, that's not true," he defended.

_Prove it._ she wrote.

Troy thought for a moment before finally leaving the room. Gabriella sighed, thinking that she was right. He didn't like her, how could he? She couldn't even talk, she was just some freak.

However, within seconds, Troy had walked back inside, carrying a guitar. Seeing her questioning look, he spoke, "Remember how you told me that everybody has their own 'thing' and hidden talent? Well, this is mine, but you're the only person who knows."

Gabriella nodded, not understanding what this had to do with anything at the time. Motioning for her to sit, Troy dropped to one knee in front of her, placing the guitar on his knee and positioning his hands correctly. Gabriella listened intently as he began lightly strumming a familiar song. He took her breath away the moment he opened his mouth to sing.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath.  
And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth.  
Tell me that we belong together,  
Dress it up with the trappings of love.  
I'll be captivated,  
I'll hang from your lips,  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above._

_I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life_.

Troy watched as Gabriella's face lit up, indicating that he was doing his job. Gabriella listened as the strumming got more intense along with the beating of her heart.

_  
"And I've dropped out, I've burned up, I've fought my way back from the dead.  
I've tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said_

_I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your...  
I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life._

_The greatest fan of your life.  
...greatest fan of your life."_

As Troy finished, he looked up at Gabriella, awaiting her response. After a few seconds, Gabriella stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. With this, Troy knew he didn't need a verbal or written response, for actions spoke louder than words.

"So this means yes?" he presumed.

Gabriella nodded, liking the feel of his strong arms against her body. It felt amazing to her, to say the least.

"Then I'll ask another question." Troy took her hands in his as he continued, "Gabriella Montez, will you be my girlfriend?"

Gabriella was about to nod but decided on something else, knowing some actions spoke louder than others. With no hesitation, she captured his lips with hers. Troy held her as close as possible as he returned the kiss. However, the moment was short-lived.

"Troy, Gabi, dinner's read--" Mary's last word was cut off upon seeing the two teenagers caught up in a lip-lock. Both pulled away, blushing madly.

"Um, okay, Mom, thanks," Troy said and jolted out of the room, Gabriella hot on his heels.

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was…wow, to put it simply. It all started when Troy finally dumped that blonde Barbie wanna-be. But, then, she cornered me later on saying that I'm the reason Troy dumped her. She kicked me and slapped me, but Troy and Jack came to my aid. Troy showed a side that I didn't know existed, and that is sincerity. I could see it in his eyes that he truly cares about me. I can tell it's still a struggle for him to stand up to his friends, but, as far as I know, he's no longer doing it. Besides, why would he say that about his girlfriend?_

_Oh yes, I almost forgot (not really), but Troy kissed me! I was skeptical at first, but then he sang to me and proved to me that his feelings were real. It was so romantic! For a cocky guy, Troy can be very sweet._

_Well, I gotta go. I promised my boyfriend I'd meet him outside. Gee, I love saying that do much!_

_Love,_

_Gabriella_


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: It's still not mine.

* * *

The following three weeks flew by faster than Troy or Gabriella imagined. Troy hadn't spent as much time with Gabriella due to Jack's constant training, but their relationship remained strong. Basketball season had finally ended strong for the Wildcats onlya few days earlier with the gain of the state championship, but while the others were still ona highfrom the win, Troy had managed to come down from it before returning to school.

As far as Troy and Gabriella's relationship, they mutually agreed not to tell anyone about the relationship, both fearing the school's reaction; however, they remained steady. In fact, their feeling grew stronger for each other to a level that was unknown to them. Gabriella still hadn't regained her voice, but that didn't matter to Troy, for he knew that it was coming. Since basketball season was over, he planned to spend as much time as possible trying to help her along, but fate had other plans.

"Good morning, beautiful." Gabriella' eyes fluttered open upon hearing Troy's voice. Smiling sleepily, she sat up and he kissed her cheek.

"Ready for a fun day at school?" he asked, hints of sarcasm in his voice. She shrugged. "Oh come on, it'll be great for you! You have my greatness to look at all day!"

Giggling, Gabriella playfully hit him with her pillow. Troy looked at her in mock hurt. "Gabi! You are so mean to me! All I ever did was care about you!" Silently, Gabriella ran out of the room and down to the kitchen, prompting him to follow. "Paybacks, Montez!"

Gabriella grinned, ignoring the fact that he was gaining on her. Once she reached the den, however, she found herself tackled to the ground, landing hard on her left hand. Grimacing, she rolled over and found Troy on top of her, hoisting himself up on his hands and knees.

"Oh gosh, Gabi, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Troy cried, panicking. "Please, tell me you're okay!"

Gently, Gabriella rubbed his arm with her good hand, indicating that it was okay. Although, Troy knew better than to believe her. Carefully, he raised her left hand and examined it closely. When he pressed on her wrist, he noticed Gabriella biting back pain so he stopped. "It's probably sprained. Gabi, I'm sorry, I never wanted to hurt you."

Sliding her other arm around his neck, Gabriella pressed her lips to his, her way of saying 'it was an accident, I forgive you'. After returning the kiss, Troy helped her off the floor and over to the couch. From there, he went to the kitchen and got her an ice pack. Upon handing it to her, he slipped his arm over her stomach and pulled her in for a brief embrace. Gabriella sighed, unable to remember a time when anyone took care of her like Troy had been.

"Will you be okay?" he asked her, his eyes filled with concern. Smiling, she nodded and stood up, pointing to her room and then to her clothes, meaning she had to change. "Sure you don't some help? You know, with that sprain, you may need an extra hand..."

Gabriella smacked his chest playfully, unable to suppress laughter at his comment.

"What I was just offering to help!"

* * *

"…The champs are here!" Zeke hollered as he, Troy, Chad, and Jason entered homeroom, but onlyafew students were there, the ones who couldn't care less,

"And you guys know what the best part of season ending is," Chad started.

"No more practice until next season?" Jason guessed.

"For you guys maybe. My training for next season starts tomorrow," Troy stated, groaning atthe thought.

"Nope," Chad replied. "The best part is, we no longer have to be nice to that freaky Montez girl."

At the mention of Gabriella, Troy accidentally blurted their secret, "She's my girlfriend."

Troy watched as their jaws dropped in astonishment. "Dude, your dad is making you _date_ her now? Shesh! That's harsh!" Jason stated.

"No, Dad has nothing in it," Troy assured them. "Look, I really like her, okay? For my sake, can you please leave her alone? She's a good person, once you get to know her."

"How can you get to know her? She can't even talk!" Chad pointed out. "And, we know you. You'd never willingly date someone like her."

As Chad said this, Troy saw Gabriella in the doorway looking down sadly as she listened to them. Knowing that, with Ms. Darbus not around, it was his chance to prove to them that he was with Gabriella by choice, Troy walked over to her. Once he was in front of her, he wrapped his arms around his stunned girlfriend and kissed her, attempting to show as much love as possible. The jocks watched in amazement as he pulled back breathlessly, Gabriella red as a tomato.

"There's your proof," Troy stated. Unfortunately for them, Ryan Evans had seen and heard the entire thing and was impatiently waiting for his sister.

* * *

_Troy, what was that about?_ Gabriella questioned him later that day, referring to the homeroom kiss. _I thought we were keeping 'us' a secret!_

"But, Gabi, they started talking about you, I had to say something to get them to stop," Troy defended.

_But, what if they treat me worse now or something?_ she asked.

"They won't or else they'll have me to deal with," he assured her. "So, how's your wrist, is it any better?"

_Yeah, it's ok._ she answered as they reached her next class. _See you later._

Sighing, Troy nodded and walked further down the hall to his class. However, the clicking of heels suddenly caught his attention, followed by the call, or shout, of his name, "TROY!"

Troy groaned but continued walking, trying to ignore the blonde, although, she was gaining on him.

"Troy! Stop!" Sharpay demanded.

"I'm not listening to you, Sharpay!" Troy snapped, turning to face her. "Don't expect me to listen to you after you hurt Gabriella, someone I actually care about!"

Sharpay suddenly burst into tears, which Troy knew were fake but, to everyone else, they appeared to be real tears. "Why do you hate me, Troy?"

Troy groaned. "Sharpay, grow up!"

"Y-yiou dumped me for _her_! What if I'm pregnant? Huh?" Sharpay cried.

Troy smirked. "The kid couldn't possibly be mine so that's on you."

Finally, the bell sounded throughout the school, thus breakingup Troy and Sharpay's arguement. Like lightening, Troy had ventured to his classroom before Sharpay could say another word.

* * *

"So, Gabi, plans tonight?" Taylor asked her at lunch.

_I dunno. I'll probably do homework, study and go to bed, that'll be my evening. _she wrote.

"Sounds like 'fun'," Taylor stated sarcastically.

Gabriella smiled. _I didn't say what I was studying._

"Would it be a certain lunkhead-basketball man?" she queried. Gabriella felt a pang of guilt in her stomach but she did nothing, knowing that Troy wouldn't find out nor would he care. Solemnly, she nodded. "When are you ever going to see through that jerk's web of lies?" Gabriella shrugged before taking a sip of her water. "Gabi, I know what I heard that day, and you're only going to get played for a fool."

_Look, Tay, I'm mute, not dumb. He's not going to hurt me, he promised._ she wrote confidently.

Taylor sighed. "Promises aren't always kept."

_I know that, but I have faith that Troy is different from the others._ Gabriella replied.

Taylor shook her head, knowing nothing would get through to her friend. "For your sake, I hope your right."

Gabriella bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to either change the subject or leave. Finally, she thought up a plan. _I gotta go meet up with Kelsi. I promised I'd help her some with props and stuff for the musical._

Taylor nodded as she left, although confused. Why would Gabriella be helping out the drama club, especially when Sharpay would be there?

* * *

"…All right, guys, you know the plan," Chad stated as he, Jason and Zeke made their way to the gym. "Zeke sends Coach to Mr. Matsui. Jason, you find Gabriella and tell her that Troy wants her to meet him here, and I'll stay there to keep everything in check, got it?"

The other two nodded, but Zeke was the first to question it. "Do we really have to do all this? I mean, we can't control who he dates."

"Do you want Troy, our captain, our friend, dating a mute nerd? She's like a leech, just using him for his school status, but Troy doesn't realize it," Chad stated, feeling that he was in the right.

Zeke nodded, feeling slightly better about the whole thing. "All right. I'll find Coach."

"I'll go find the nerd. Where is she?" Jason asked.

"Probably the science lab," Chad answered as he and Zeke went into the gym.

"All right, I'll meet you back here."

* * *

When Jason finally spotted Gabriella, he hadn't found her in the science lab. Instead, she was at her locker with Kelsi, the second place he checked. Casually, he approached them. As he did so, he noticed Kelsi's cheerful expression change to anger and a small trace of fear.

"Gabriella, Troy wants to see you in the gym pronto," he told her, ignoring Kelsi glare.

Gabriella nodded and followed him, although confused. Since when did the jocks, besides Troy, start calling her by her real name?

As soon as she walked into the gym, Gabriella knew she had been tricked. Troy was nowhere to be seen, but Chad and Zeke were there. Hastily, she attempted to escape but Jason grabbed her sprained wrist, causing her to wince. Jason smirked as he pulled her over to Chad and Zeke.

"Jase, lock her in the closet," Chad instructed before looking Gabriella in the eye. "You won't be using our friend anymore, you little parasite."

Gabriella gasped as Jason yanked her towards the equipment closet. She attempted to escape but no use. Before she knew it, he had her locked inside.

* * *

Not long after, Troy walked into the gym to meet up with his father, but was surprised to find Chad, Zeke and Jason instead. Instantly, he knew they were up to no good but went to them nonetheless.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Troy greeted as if he suspected nothing.

Chad, being the braver of the three, spoke first, "Listen, we need to talk, about earlier."

"Why?" Troy asked, realizing where this was heading.

"Because, everyone can see it, except you. You and Gabriella aren't…right for each other," Zeke stated. "And, we all thought after the season ended, you're friendship was done."

Irritably, Troy's hands clenched into fists. "You have no right to tell me who's right or wrong for me! And, secondly, why's it so important that I dump her?"

"Because it goes against the flow," Jason pointed out.

"Plus, she's using you, Troy," Chad added. "She knows you're popular and she's a nerd. That always happens when jocks and nerds collide."

Troy scoffed. "Status? Is that all anyone cares about?"

"That's all _she _cares about," Zeke stated.

Troy shook his head. "You don't know her."

"Face it, Troy. She's mute, she has no family, no home, and no life. Why wouldn't she feed off of you? You have everything that she lacks," Chad pointed out.

Troy sighed, realizing that they had a point. However, he wouldn't give in. "What do you want me to do? Tell you she's a freak and I'm only dating her because of my father? Would that make you happy?"

"Yes!" Chad shouted. "You can't honestly be in love with her! We know you better than that."

Troy nodded, silently brainstorming. He knew they would never get off his case if he told them the truth. If he made them think he was dumping her, they would leave him alone about it, and their relationship could go back to being a secret, which is why he lied. "Well, you guys thought right. I mean, come on! Look at me, look at…_her_. Who could love that thing? I figured that, by acting all sweet and nice with her it'd lower my chance of her telling my dad if I said anything 'bad' about her or whatever, but now that the season is over and we won, that freak is history."

Chad, Zeke and Jason all had smiles on their faces, knowing that they had their friend back. "What about whatyou said earlier?"

Troy scoffed. "This morning I knew she was there so I figured I'd lead her omn a bit. What I said a few minutes ago was just to see how well you guys know me."

"By the way, we locked 'it' in the equipment closet. Your call on what we do to her," Zeke told him.

Troy's heart momentarily stopped beating. Had she heard what he said? What would she do if she did hear him? Angrily, Troy's hands clenched into fists. "Why did you lock her in the equipment closet?"

Chad sighed. "Do you want us to let her out?"

"Of course!" Troy yelled, not understanding how three people could be so incompetent.

"Why do you care so much?" Jason questioned as he made his way to the supply closet.

"Because, if dad or someone else finds out, we're dead!" Troy stated, keeping his true reasons private.

As Jason unlocked the closet, Troy bit his bottom lip and began to sweat, fearing Gabriella's reaction. When the closet opened, no one came out. Flicking on the lights, Jason was shocked to see that Gabriella was gone.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Some of you have asked about this, so I figured I might as well tell everyone, but some people have asked me about doing a sequel to this. If you guys really want one, I was able to come up with an idea for one, but I might not get around to it anytime soon (possibly not until November-December). However, if you guys really, really want it, I'll do one at some time or other, so just tell me asap so I know for sure by the last chapter.

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine.

* * *

After a few seconds of not seeing Gabriella, Troy, in an angry rage, grabbed Chad by the collar. "Where is she? What did you do to her?"

"Chill, man!" Zeke said, pulling Troy off of Chad. "We did nothing! She must've gone out the back door."

"For your sakes, she better have!" Troy threatened, running out of the gym.

* * *

Numbly, Gabriella made her way through the parking lot until she found Coach Bolton' car. The jocks had forgotten to lock the other side of the equipment closet leading to the outside, meaning Gabriella was free to leave. She had stuck around long enough to hear her 'boyfriend', but she knew better than to call him that now. He was still as immature as he had been when she first met him, only now his actions left stabbing pains in her heart.

"Gabi! Gabi, wait up!" Gabriella sighed but continued walking, not wanting to deal with Troy. When he caught up with her, he grabbed her wrist, forgetting the injury, causing Gabriella to shriek. "Gabs, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to grab you like that! But, where are you going?"

Pulling her hand away, Gabriella continued walking, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

"Now you're giving me the silent treatment," Troy commented, hoping this wasn't over the earlier incident. Of course, in a way, Gabriella took it that he was making fun of her which caused her to walk faster. "What's wrong?"

Gabriella couldn't take it any longer. How could he act as though nothing was wrong? He knew what he did, why was he playing dumb?

Troy listened as Gabriella let out a few heart-wrenching sobs before turning to him, her fists clenched tightly. Her mouth opened, but instead of nothing coming out, Troy heard an unfamiliar voice, "How can you act like nothing happened? I heard everything! I thought I could trust you! How dare you use me like that!" Her words hit him worse than a slap to the face. In fact, he felt he would've preferred that over hearing her finally speak.

"Gabriella, I'm so--"

"Gabriella, I'm what? Sorry? It'll never happen again? I didn't mean it?" she snapped. "You are so predictable!"

Gabriella quickly covered her mouth, unable to believe that she had just started talking, much less yelled at Troy, but, surprisingly, it felt _good_.

Troy was equally surprised. He wasn't planning on her regaining her voice now, but he wished she hadn't. As irate as she seemed, he knew she wouldn't believe him as easily as before. "What am I supposed to say?" he asked, his voice rising to match hers. "Gabriella, I'm not sorry? I can't stand you? I'd do it all over again?"

"That's the truth! Finally, something honest coming from you!" she yelled. "Which reminds me. I know you lied about what you said to Sharpay!"

"Gabi, I--"

"And don't call me that!" she ordered.

Troy sighed. "Fine. Gabriella, I didn't mean anything I told her or the others. I love you."

Gabriella tensed upon hearing his last sentence. She had always dreamed of hearing someone besides her parents tell her that they loved her, but Troy wasn't the one she wanted to hear it from, not at that moment at least. "You don't love me."

Before Troy could respond, Gabriella took off running. Troy ran after her and soon caught up with her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into him. "How do you know?"

"If you loved me, you wouldn't treat me like that to your friends! Love and respect fall together, so until you learn to respect me, don't even talk to me about love!" she yelled, pulling away from him.

Sighing, Troy released her and she began walking away. "Gabriella, I'm really sorry--"

"You're only sorry you got caught," she told him. "Tell me, if I didn't find out for myself, would you have told me?"

Troy thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, because I wouldn't want to hurt you."

"Boy, you have a lot to learn." Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Troy, Gabriella, where are you going?" The two groaned upon hearing Jack's voice and walked back towards him. After getting in the car, neither said nothing, not even about Gabriella regaining her voice. Troy didn't know which was worse: the tension after their first kiss or the tension now.

* * *

Once home, Gabriella immediately ran to her room and locked the door, not even bothering to greet Mary.

Rummaging through her drawer, Gabriella found a book in which she started to read before moving to Albuquerque. All she wanted was to take her mind off of Troy, although it was difficult when it felt like every other word she read was 'Troy'.

Before long, Gabriella heard someone knocking on her door, but she knew immediately who it was.

"Gabriella, please let me talk to you!" Troy begged.

Sighing, Gabriella pulled out her Ipod and turned it up as loud as she could, drowning out his voice. In this sense, she was lucky. Before the fire, she had left her Ipod at a friend's house, and she was happy about that then.

"Gabriella, open up or else I'll bust the door down!" Troy threatened, not realizing she couldn't hear him. When no response was heard, Troy angrily punched the door, ignoring the searing pain it caused his hand. "What are you now, deaf?"

Gabriella, who just happened to be in the middle of songs, heard this and clearly wasn't happy. Swiftly, she turned off the Ipod, ripped out the ear buds, and abruptly opened the door.

"Go away, Troy!" she demanded.

"Not until I talk to you," he insisted.

"We are talking but you aren't listening!" she yelled, frustrated. "How many times must I say 'I don't want to talk'?"

"You're talking now," he reasoned. "And, I'm so proud of you for regaining your voice, but you have it all wrong."

Gabriella's expression went suddenly cold. "You must think I'm stupid! Well, guess what, I'm not!"

"I know you're not stupid! I know what I did was wrong! But, Gabi, you gotta understand, I love you and I never meant to hurt you!" There it was again, the 'L' word. If he said it again, Gabriella knew she would lose it.

"It's too little too late," she coldly replied, walking back into her room, but Troy refused to let her walk out on him.

"Gabriella, you can't go your whole life avoiding me," he stated.

"I can and I will," she replied, pointing towards the door. "Leave."

Troy sighed but didn't budge.

"Troy, Gabriella, what's going on?" The teens turned around upon hearing Mary's voice.

"Nothing, mom!" Troy lied, but Gabriella glared at him.

"Troy's just being a typical jerk," she added. Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a stunned Mary.

"Gabriella, you got your voice back?" she questioned in disbelief.

"Yeah," she answered. "Right when I needed it. But, _he _still isn't listening to me."

Troy sighed, feeling more guilty than before. "If you really want me to go then I'll go."

Surprised, Mary watched Troy leave the room before looking back to Gabriella who appeared unemotional. "What happened?"

Gabriella sighed. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Mary nodded, not wanting to invade their privacy. "Ok, but if you ever want to talk about it, feel free to come to me."

Gabriella nodded as Mary left the room. Once she was gone, Gabriella relocked the door and headed straight for her diary. Even though she could verbally express her feelings again, she had grown accustomed to using her diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today may have just been the worst day of my life (aside from losing my parents). First, Troy fell on me and I sprained my wrist, but that I didn't care about because I thought it was an accident (now I think otherwise). Then, after school, Jason tricked me and I wound up getting locked in the equipment closet in the gym. Then, to make it worse, I had to sit back and listen as Troy started putting me down again to his friends. I escaped through a back door but what I heard still hurts. Then, he found me and acted as though nothing had happened. I started crying and I yelled at him, and, yes, I got my voice back. Eventually, he told me he loved me, but I think that hurt worse. He told me he loves me but he can't mean it. He doesn't respect me so how can he love me?_

_I guess that's really all I have to say right now._

_Gabriella_

* * *

The following morning, Gabriella quickly got ready for school and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Unfortunately, instead of seeing everyone, all she found was Troy, sipping on what appeared to be coffee. She hoped she could sneak by him but no luck. He immediately looked up at her, his eyes full of worry, although he tried to hide it.

"Good morning, Gabriella," Troy greeted nervously.

Gabriella said nothing as she grabbed the carton of orange juice from the refrigerator and poured a glass.

"So, uh, did you have a nice night?" he asked her.

Gabriella sighed and slammed the fridge door shut. "Don't talk to me, okay?"

"Just answer me this," he started. "Where are we? Are we together or not?"

Biting her bottom lip, she refused to look him in the eyes as she spoke, "I thought about it and I've decided. I'm done."

Troy stood abruptly and shook his head. "Please, don't say that! I know I made a mistake! I'm sorry, I'll do anything to make it up to you! Just please don't say we've over!"

"I'm sorry but I have to," she replied. "It's just going to keep happening and I can't take much more of it."

"If I prove otherwise, will you change your mind?" he asked her.

"I…I don't think so," she answered, evidently uncertain. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go."

Nodding miserably, Troy followed her to the bus stop in silence. When they got there, they found Jason, making both feel uneasy.

"Hey, Troy, what's up?" Jason greeted him, ignoring Gabriella.

"Don't talk to me," Troy said quietly, holding in his anger.

"Shesh, what's up with you?" Jason asked.

"If you don't know then you're obviously dense," Troy retorted, walking a few feet away from him.

"Hey, no one ever said you might somehow have feelings for 'it'," Jason argued.

"And no one ever said you might somehow have a brain." Jason and Troy gaped at Gabriella, both unable to believe what she had just said, especially Jason.

"Since when can she talk?" Jason asked.

"Since when do you have the mental ability to ask a question?" Gabriella tested, her newfound backbone taking control. If Troy wouldn't stick up for her, she knew she'd have to do it herself. Even though she wouldn't normally insult people, she realized that this was nothing compared to what they did to her.

Troy continued to gape at Gabriella, silently commending her for her words. No one dared to mess with the basketball team, especially himself, Chad, Zeke or Jason, so he knew it took a lot of guts for her to do this, something that he lacked.

"That's it, I'm not taking this." Jason started to go towards Gabriella but Troy got in front of him and held him back, a threatening look in his eyes.

"Don't you let me hear a word of you putting a finger on her or else prepare to be laid up in the hospital for the rest of your life," Troy growled. "I don't care if you're my friend or not."

"Whoa, chill, dude!" Jason defended, backing off in fear. Unless it was a seven-foot monster, Jasn typically wasn't afraid of anyone, but when Troy was this angry, he meant business.

Before more could be said, the bus pulled up and the teens boarded it, Gabriella on first. Sitting next to Kelsi, Gabriella sighed and rested in the seat, thinking about the exchange she had just witnessed. Finally, Troy had stood up for her as well as himself, but would he really do that to Jason? That would be taking it too far for her likings.

"Hey, Gabi," Kelsi greeted her, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Oh, hey, Kels." Gabriella watched in amusement as Kelsi's jaw dropped in shock.

"You just--"

"Yeah, I know!" Gabriella replied, smiling genuinely for the first time in twenty-four hours.

"No joke, right? There are no hidden cameras, no strange guy coming out saying that I've been Punk'd?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella laughed. "No, no joke. And no Ashton, sorry."

"So who else knows?" she asked.

"The Boltons and Jason," Gabriella said and sighed. "But, I didn't get my voice back the way I had hoped."

"Really? Why?" Kelsi asked curiously.

"I got it back just in time to yell at Troy," she answered. "I'll tell you and Taylor all about it later."

* * *

Walking down the main hallway, Troy had a plan. He had called a meeting in the locker room for himself, Chad, Zeke and Jason. He would set things straight. He refused to sit back and let them ruin him more than they already had. They would either accept Gabriella or lose him.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: This is the second to last chapter, just to remind you guys. My bad luck string is finally over (or I just had a break from bad luck, I dunno) but I've been in a better mood and so I'm more in the mood to write now. Anyway, the last chapter of this I'm hoping to post on the 20th, so this coming Sunday. As always, thanks for the reviews, and I'm especially thankful because, on that last chapter, thanks to all of you, I reached my review goal for this story of 500, making this my most successful story thus far, because I did reach 500+ on another story but that story ran for about 25-ish chapters and reached 500 towards chapter 20 so this really is my most successful story overall, so 501 thank-you's to everyone! Anyway, here's chapter 16!

Disclaimer: HSM is still not mine.

* * *

"...Why on earth has Troy called us in here?" Chad questioned after he, Zeke and Jason had arrived in the locker room. Chad and Zeke received text messages from Troy telling them to meet him there, but Jason had been verbally told on the bus.

Both boys shrugged but the door suddenly opened to reveal Troy. The three looked for signs of his mood but found none. Thinking the best, Zeke spoke, "Yo, Troy, what's up?"

Troy gave Zeke a stony look but calmly replied, "You better know what this is about."

"You mean yesterday?" Chad asked. "Look, Troy, we're sorry, but it was for the best."

"The best for who? Me or _you_?" Troy questioned. "Because this looks like it's more about you than me! I have no problem with Gabriella! Unlike you, she listens to me and knows the real me! All you saw was a genuine jerk who made a mark by tormenting others! Maybe I don't want to be that guy anymore! Ever think of that? Thanks to her, I was getting out of it. Now thanks to you, I lost the one who was helping me to become a better person!"

"The whole school worships you! What if they all knew you were dating a geek? That wouldn't go too well," Chad pointed out.

"I don't care about that!" Troy yelled. "I'm so sick of school status! What good will it do us in the real world? None!"

"Troy, we get that," Jason said. "We just don't agree with your choice of girlfriend."

"It's not your decision to make!" Troy shouted. "It's my life! She's my choice! Either you accept her or lose me!"

"Whoa, why so harsh?" Chad asked. "Why are you choosing a girl whom you just met over us, your friends since the start?"

"I'm not!" Troy denied and sighed. "I love her but she doesn't believe me. She's the first girl I've ever said that to and meant it. If you guys cared at all, you'd respect my decision."

Giving each other knowing looks, they simultaneously nodded. Chad spoke, "We get it, kind of, so if we have to accept her to keep you then we will."

"Is there anything we can do to help fix it, since it is our faults?" Zeke asked him.

Troy sighed. "She won't talk to me. If you could maybe try to talk to her, see if you can get her to ease up."

"That could be difficult but okay," Chad replied. "We're up for the challenge, right?"

"Right," the other two said in unison. Troy smiled, feeling a new rush of confidence.

* * *

"...I don't know. I mean, what he said really hurt," Gabriella told Taylor who was sitting beside her at lunch. After explaining what Troy she had heard Troy say, she was venting to one of the the only two people she felt she could trust.

"Those jerks were behind it, weren't they?" Taylor asked her bitterly.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, but Troy didn't have to say what he said. He could've said nothing or defended me."

"Hun, I knew he would hurt you, why didn't you listen?" Taylor stated.

"I know, I know. It's just that, I really liked him and I thought he was changing and that he liked me," she told her.

"Speak oh the devil, look who's on his way here," Kelsi told them, pointing at the brown-haired boy coming their way.

"Oh great, what now?" Gabriella said angrily.

"Gabriella, please just talk to me," Troy pressed.

"Look, she doesn't want to talk!" Taylor informed him.

"Shut it, McKessie, you don't know what she wants," Troy said angrily. Taylor frowned.

"She's right, and you can't make her shut up!" Gabriella yelled.

"You know, I liked you better when you were mute!" Troy watched guiltily as Gabriella's eyes filled with tears. However, before she started crying, she stood and ran out of the cafeteria.

"Nice, Bolton! Now you just made ten times worse!" Taylor yelled.

Ignoring Taylor, Troy left the cafeteria in search of Gabriella. It didn't take him long, for she was on a bench in the main lobby. Sitting down next to her, Troy listened as she cried into her arms. Unable to resist holding her, Troy wrapped his arms around her petite frame, causing her to tense.

"D-don't touch me," she whispered, although making no effort to move. He was the one who hurt her. She wasn't supposed to let him hold her, even though she knew he was the only one who could mend her broken heart.

"I'm so sorry, Gabi," he said softly. "I swear, I didn't mean it! I love your voice and I'm ecstatic that you got it back. I just meant that you were better at listening to me then."

"I do listen to you," she choked. "I heard what you said yesterday. You don't get how much that hurt."

"Gabi, it was a mistake," he said, brushing the hair from her eyes. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I told the guys this morning that they either accept you as being my girlfriend or lose me, and they chose option one. They won't hurt you anymore, Gabriella, nor will I, I swear to it. If they do, I'm done with them."

"You act like that'll make everything go away," she said, escaping his grip. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can trust you right now."

Troy sighed as she started walking away. Getting her to take him back would be harder than he thought.

* * *

Heading to her locker after school, Gabriella glanced down the hall to see Troy at his, but he wasn't alone. He was with Sharpay. Gabriella sighed upon seeing the smile on his face and quickly became jealous. They broke up so why was he talking to her? And, after what Sharpay did to her, it didn't make sense. In disgust, she watched as she hugged him tightly and he returned the embrace. If he loved her then why was he with his ex?

Deciding to ignore them, Gabriella opened her locker and pulled out her books. Before long, though, Gabriella felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped in fear. Turning around, she gasped upon seeing Chad and Zeke.

"Wh-what do you want?" she asked, fearfully.

"We came to say we're sorry," Chad started. "We just want you to know that, everything that happened was entirely our faults, especially mine. Troy had nothing in it, he's just as much a victim as you are. We knew that, if we could pressure him enough, he'd say those things and cause you to dump him. But, we realize now that it was a mistake and, if Troy's happy, that's all that should matter."

"That's all well and good but no one made Troy say anything. You may have egged him on but he still has control over his words," she explained, looking over at Troy and Sharpay. "I just don't know if I can trust him with my heart."

Just then, Troy's eyes locked with Gabriella's. Upon seeing Chad and Zeke, he worriedly rushed to them, forgetting Sharpay.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Troy asked them.

"I should be asking you the same thing," she snapped. "You and blondie getting all comfortable over there, just go back to her and be her pet."

"Look, you can't tell me what to do!" Troy snapped, taking her by surprise. "And, at this point, I could get back easier with her than I could you!"

Gabriella's eyes changed from anger to hurt in an instant. Troy mentally cursed himself, wondering if he could make things any worse than he already had. "Gabriella, I--"

"Save it. Just go back to Sharpay, everyone knows that's all you care about, and she's the only girlfriend you've had that people approve of." With that said, Gabriella stormed down the hall and out of the school. Troy went after her but by the time he made it outside, she was already on the bus. Sighing in frustration, Troy also boarded the bus but didn't speak to Gabriella or anyone else.

* * *

"I hate him! I hate, hate, hate Troy Bolton!" These words rolled freely from Gabriella's mouth as soon as she had locked herself in her room. How could he do that to her? First he tells her he loves her, then she finds him hugging his ex. Why was he leading her on? Was it all just a joke to him, or a game? Did he think he could use his charm to get her to fall for him then crush her? Is that what he had always done before she arrived?

Gabriella sighed and laid down on her bed. Troy had to be the best bully she had ever met. Usually, bullies were to only hurt and humiliate others. He, on the other hand, not only hurt and humiliated her, but he also got her to believe he cared about her and nearly got her to believe that he loved her, and then he crushed her, pretended to be sorry, then went to his ex when she wouldn't forgive him. Did he think she would forgive him as soon as it happened? He was impatient; all she needed was time to hurt. She just wanted some space, which was difficult seeing as they lived in the same house, but he could just not talk to her unless he absolutely had to, right?

Brushing these thoughts aside, Gabriella started thinking about the others. Chad and Zeke seemed semi-sincere, she thought. And, they had said that Troy was also the victim of their plot. Maybe Troy did deserve a second chance. She wasn't entirely sure what to do; however, she did know that it was boring not being able to go to him, and she was starting to miss his sense of humor. Overall, as much as she hated to admit it, she just missed him.

* * *

Later that evening, Gabriella and Troy left their rooms at the same time. They stared at each other but said nothing, fearing the other person's response. Troy yearned to just take her in her arms and kiss her pain away, but he knew that would never work. He silently wished this chance encounter would end so he wouldn't have to be yelled at more.

Surprisingly, Gabriella finally spoke, "Was 'us' a joke?"

"No," he answered, upset that she had asked that. "Gabriella, I really do care about you! Don't ever say we were a joke!"

Gabriella sighed. "Are you back with Sharpay?"

"Of course not! I don't want her back!" he stated. "I'm sorry if what I said upset you or gave you the wrong idea. And, the reason I was talking to her earlier was only because she decided to make a move on me and I was too upset with myself to care, so I apologize for that, too."

Gabriella nodded but said nothing, so Troy decided it was his turn to ask the questions. "Is there any hope for us?"

"I'm...not sure," she answered hesitently. "Look, if you really want to get back with me then please just give me some time without you constantly bothering me about it. I'm not sure if what you did is forgivable, but at least give me some time alone."

Troy nodded. "I understand, and I'll do whatever it takes."


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Sadly, this is the last chapter. However, by popular demand, there will be a sequel, _but_ it won't start until December, but at least I'm doing one, right? Anyway, I already have that all planned out though, and I've already decided on a title, _Listen _(that'll be self-explanatory when it starts). Anyway, thank you guys so so much for helping to make this story a success!

Disclaimer: HSM is not mine nor is 'Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?' (Shakespeare) or "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" (Elvis). I was far from being born when they were written, so therefore, definitley not mine.

* * *

Over the next three weeks, Troy's patience was wearing thin. Gabriella still wouldn't talk to him unless it was absolutely necessary. He promised he would give her some space, but he didn't realize it would take her this long. It was killing him to see her and not be able to hug her or even just talk to her. Although, in this time apart, he realized that if he hadn't have hurt her so badly he would be able to do just that, and he knew he would never do it again after she took him back, _if_ she took him back.

Stepping out of his room Friday morning, Troy walked down the hall to Gabriella's room just as she was leaving. Awkwardly, he greeted her, "Good morning, Gabriella."

Gabriella smiled the smile Troy hadn't seen in over three weeks as she replied, "Good morning to you, too."

Smiling back, his confidence grew so he continued, "I see you're finally smiling. I was starting to get worried, thought maybe you lost it."

Gabriella's smile was replaced by a frown. He may have been kidding around, but, in a way, she felt insulted. "Look, I gotta go."

"We're going to the same place," he pointed out. "And, we have forty-five minutes to finish getting ready."

"Your point is..." she started.

"Gabriella, we haven't talked hardly at all in three weeks. I gave you your space, I kept my word, but right now, I just really need to talk to you," he continued.

"I'm sorry but I'm still not ready," she answered.

At this, Troy snapped. "When are you ever going to be ready? Good grief! It's been three weeks and you still can't at least talk to me! All I can say is, from now on, I might not be here when you do come around! I'll be out with another girl!"

Gabriella looked crushed as she silently made her way down to the kitchen. Troy smacked his forehead, knowing that once again, he blew his chance.

"Gabriella, I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" he called after her but received no reply, only the sound of a slamming door.

* * *

"...Why can't that numskull just keep his mouth shut? If he would maybe I'd take him back!" Gabriella ranted.

"Easy there, Gabriella!" Kelsi cautioned. "He could hear you."

"I don't care! He caused me enough heartache! A girl would have to be desperate to date him!" she yelled.

"Well, now I know how you really feel about me." Gabriella gasped and turned around to see Troy's crushed face. "If you didn't want to be with me, I'd rather you tell me than lead me on."

"Troy, that's not what I mean! I'm sorry!" she cried. "I want to be with you."

"It's too late," he told her, reminding her of her words not too long ago. "Look, I came here to apologize for earlier but now I see no point. It won't change anything."

"But, Troy--"

"Ah ah, remember the rule," he stated coolly. "Never approach me or my friends."

Gabriella bit her bottom lip angrily. Now they were back to square one.

* * *

That night, Troy lie awake on his bed, tossing his basketball at the ceiling. He hadn't spoke to Gabriella the rest of the day, but part of him yearned for her. The reason why he reactivated his old rule was to prove to her that he could go back to who he was at any time. Usually, he wouldn't want to go back to being the bully he was, but now he wanted to go back. At least back then, he didn't have to worry about getting his heart broken by her. Instead, however, he would be breaking others' hearts, especially hers.

Suddenly, light tapping on his door was heard. Quickly, Troy put the basketball on the floor and shut his eyes, wishing whoever it was would leave him alone. However, no such luck. The door quietly opened to reveal a saddened Gabriella. Walking to his bed, she sat on the edge next to him and his eyes opened but his face soon turned cold. "What is it?I told you to never come in here without my permission! Do you have permission? No!"

"I need to talk to you," she said quietly, shrugging off his anger.

Sitting up, he replied, "So when I want to talk, you won't. What makes you think I want to talk now?"

"Troy, quit this. Stop your ego before it ruins us completely," she told him.

"You already did that," he retorted.

Gabriella sighed. "I know, I'm sorry. But, I really do care about you, and I don't want to go on like this. I miss you."

Troy paused for a moment, his anger melting as he looked her in the eyes. If she could stop her pride, he knew he could follow. "I miss you, too." Gabriella smiled and hugged him. "So why wouldn't you talk to me earlier?"

"Because I'm still scared," she replied. "I'm scared you'll break my heart again."

"Gabi, I know I say some pretty stupid things but I don't intentionally mean to hurt your feelings," he assured her.

"I know, but they still hurt," she told him.

Releasing her from his embrace, he gently took her hand in his. "Give me twenty-four hours and I'll have you convinced that I'll never break your heart again."

Gabriella sighed. "I had better get back to bed."

Troy nodded, reluctantly letting go of her hand. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she told him before leaving the room.

Laying back on his bed, Troy groaned. He had twenty-four hours to make Gabriella fall for him.

* * *

The next morning, Gabriella awoke and found a piece of paper on her bed. Curiously, she unfolded it and read it.

_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?  
__Thou art more lovely and more temperate:  
__Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,  
__And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:  
__Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,  
__And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;  
__And every fair from fair sometime declines,  
__By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:  
__But thy eternal Summer shall not fade  
__Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;  
__Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,  
__When in eternal lines to time thou growest:  
__So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,  
__So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.  
_

_I know this is your all-time favorite poem, and it's very true in regards to you, my dear._

_Troy_

Smiling, Gabriella tucked the poem inside her drawer and quickly got dressed for the day. Although it was Saturday, she didn't plan on wasting her day, especially after Troy's vow the previous night.

Stepping into the hallway, Gabriella frowned upon seeing Troy's empty bedroom. She had hoped he would be nearby so she could at least tell him good morning, but she didn't find him. Sighing, she made herself a bowl of cereal and ate alone.

* * *

A few hours passed when Troy finally returned, a bouquet of red roses in hand. He had to make it right between he and Gabriella one step at a time, even with under a day's time to work with.

Knocking lightly on her room door, Troy listened for her to tell him to come in but she didn't. He could hear her voice but he couldn't make out what she was saying. Careful not to disturb her, he opened the door.

"…_Now I know your not a fairytale  
And dreams were meant for sleeping  
And wishes on a star  
Just don't come true  
Cause now even I can tell  
That I confused my feelings with the truth  
Cause I liked the view  
When there was me and you_

I can't believe that  
I could be so blind  
It's like you were floating  
While I was falling  
And I didn't mind

Cause I liked the view  
Thought you felt it too  
When there was me and you."

"Wow, Gabi, that was amazing…" Gabriella turned and gasped upon seeing Troy. She never meant for him to hear her singing, especially not that song.

"Tr-Troy, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"To give you these," he answered, holding out the roses. "By the way, did you write that?"

Gabriella nodded, blushing slightly.

"It's great. So is that how I made you feel?" he asked. She nodded again. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I don't really feel like that right now," she replied as he handed her the roses. "They're beautiful, thanks."

"Not as beautiful as my flower," he said, starring at her affectionately. "And, for your information, you're my flower."

Gabriella smiled as he walked away. Pressing the bouquet to her chest, she noticed a note tucked inside and pulled it out of the flowers.

_Gabriella,_

_No flower holds a candle to the beauty that is you. You're far above the rest in beauty, grace and sincerity. You're beautiful, don't let anyone tell you different. I see through your burns and see the beauty that lies inside you, and I wish everyone could see what I see. You have a kind and caring heart and I see it everytime I look into your eyes. Inside and out, your beauty is a rarity and you should be thankful to be so blessed._

_Gabriella, you say I can't love you because I lack respect for you but you're wrong. I finally knew what you meant three weeks ago when you asked for your space. I respected you then and it felt great, and I plan to continue. Now I can honestly tell you that I do love you, and I'm truly sorry for all the pain I've caused you._

_Love,  
__Troy_

"Oh, Troy…" Gabriella whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. Putting the roses and note down, Gabriella walked out of the room in search of Troy, soon finding him in the kitchen.

"Troy!" Troy jumped upon feeling a pair of arms wrap around the back of his neck but smiled upon seeing Gabriella.

"I see you got the note," he teased. As he turned around, Gabriella held him closer but Troy pulled back.

"Save the love until after your third and final surprise," he told her.

Gabriella pouted but nodded. "When is it?"

"It's a surprise," he told her mysteriously.

Gabriella sighed, hating that he wouldn't tell her. "Fine…."

Troy chuckled. "It's worth the wait."

"Better be," she replied.

"Funny how just twenty-four hours ago, you hated my guts but now you want me back more than anything," he teased. "Miss me and my awesomeness?"

Gabriella laughed ad walked away. "You're so full of it."

"You know it's true!" he called. "No denying it!"

* * *

Later that night, Gabriella went to bed feeling disappointed. She hadn't seen Troy at all that evening even though he told her he had another surprise. It was ten at night and still nothing. It wasn't the surprise that she really wanted, she just wanted to officially make up with Troy. She thought about it all day and realized that she was ready to fully forgive him. She wanted to move on, with him, of course.

Suddenly, something started bouncing off her window. Scared, she got up and opened it, only to see Troy outside, guitar in hand. Confused, she asked, "Troy, what are you doing?"

"This is your third surprise," he called as he began to play. Soft music filled the air of a familiar tune. Gabriella gasped when she realized he was playing one of her all-time favorite songs.

"_Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you  
Shall I stay  
Would it be a sin  
If I can't help falling in love with you"_

Gabriella watched him, already mesmerized. She definitely never expected any guy to serenade her with Elvis, especially not her favorite song.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you"

As Troy continued, he could feel his heart racing inside his chest. He needed this to be perfect, but so far he wasn't sure if it was turning out that way.

"Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you  
For I can't help falling in love with you"

As Troy finished, he looked up but Gabriella was gone. Thinking the worst, he stopped playing and ran his hand through his hair. He ruined the day, he thought.

Going back inside, Troy was immediately caught off guard by Gabriella who basically threw herself on him.

"Troy, that was amazing! I love that song!" she told him, hugging him tightly.

"R-really?" he asked, baffled.

"Yes! You are so sweet!" she replied.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked her, sliding his arms around her waist.

"Of course," she answered. "But I want one more thing from you."

"Name it, it's yours," he told her.

"Your lips pressed to mine," she requested. Grinning, Troy leaned in slowly for dramatic effect, wanting to savor the moment. Gabriella closed her eyes as their lips finally met for the first time in weeks. Gabriella returned the kiss, and when they pulled apart, she rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, for everything."

"It was no problem," he assured her. "I loved doing this for you. I love you."

Gabriella sighed but said nothing. Was she supposed to say 'I love you, too'? She wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. She wanted to make sure she could say it and mean it.

Gabriella didn't see it but Troy looked down, feeling disappointed. He had been hoping and wishing she would tell him she loved him. He knew for some people it wasn't easy to say, but he had hoped she would after he said it to her. She just needs time, he kept telling himself.

"We should probably get to bed," she told him, suddenly breaking the silence.

Troy nodded, the dissapointment leaving his face but still evident in his eyes.

"Goodnight," she said, giving him one last kiss goodnight.

Troy smiled and gave her a light peck. "Goodnight, Gabi."

As he watched her walk away, Troy's disappointment completely vanished. She hadn't told him that she loved him, but at least she was his again, that's all that mattered.


End file.
